J. Goldman & Co LP Invests $6.88 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 133,900 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $6,885,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $2,189,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 115,251 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 539,612 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $27,747,000 after acquiring an additional 87,146 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 575,639 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $23,774,000 after acquiring an additional 31,128 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 250.1% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 39,437 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $40.87 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.33.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on LUV shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Susquehanna upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.