BlackRock Inc. Takes $1.54 Billion Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired nearly 29.9 million Southwest Airlines shares worth approximately $1.54 billion, giving it a 6.12% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 80.82% of the airline.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with nine Buy, nine Hold and four Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with a $49.55 price target.
• Southwest exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.94 EPS and $8.72 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equivalent to a 1.8% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 29,917,962 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $1,538,382,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 6.12% of Southwest Airlines as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth about $234,872,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $172,038,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,661,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,320,000. Finally, Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 75.0% in the 4th quarter. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd now owns 2,800,000 shares of the airline's stock valued at $115,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $39.87 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.38 and a 200 day moving average of $44.56. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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