Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Southwest Airlines stake by 15.9% in the second quarter, selling 996,251 shares and retaining 5.28 million shares valued at approximately $271.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Southwest receiving an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $48.05; recent targets ranged from $50 to $55, while Raymond James cut its target to $54.
• Southwest reported quarterly EPS of $0.94, exceeding the $0.52 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 16.4% year over year to $8.72 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding about 1.8% annually.

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,276,832 shares of the airline's stock after selling 996,251 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.08% of Southwest Airlines worth $271,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the airline's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,437 shares of the airline's stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 109.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 871 shares of the airline's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,738 shares of the airline's stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,131 shares of the airline's stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.05.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $39.10 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $43.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.87. The stock has a market cap of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.13. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week 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.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The firm's 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, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 44.17%.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Operating under the Southwest Airlines brand, the company provides scheduled air transportation for domestic and international travelers and also offers air cargo services.

Southwest was founded in 1967 and began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The airline expanded its network across the United States and now serves numerous destinations in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and other nearby international markets.

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