4,567,724 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Purchased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,567,724 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $234,872,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.93% of Southwest Airlines as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline's stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline's stock worth $9,979,000 after buying an additional 98,986 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $40.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $47.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LUV. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Zacks Research raised Southwest Airlines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.55.

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.

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