740,350 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 740,350 Southwest Airlines shares worth approximately $38.1 million, representing about 0.15% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 80.82% of LUV.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with nine Buy, nine Hold and four Sell ratings. Southwest has an average consensus rating of Hold and a target price of $49.01.
• Southwest beat quarterly earnings expectations with $0.94 in EPS and $8.72 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, or a 1.8% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 740,350 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $38,069,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.15% of Southwest Airlines at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LUV. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $39.70 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.59 and a 200 day moving average of $44.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $29.26 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

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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