Calamos Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Calamos Advisors LLC increased its Southwest Airlines stake by 30.7% in Q1, ending with 415,532 shares worth about $15.6 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Southwest is mixed: analysts now have an average rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $49.58, though several firms recently raised their targets.
• Southwest reported Q1 EPS of $0.45, matching estimates, while revenue of $7.25 billion fell short of expectations; the company also declared a $0.18 quarterly dividend yielding about 1.5%.

Calamos Advisors LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 30.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 415,532 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 97,500 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of Southwest Airlines worth $15,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LUV shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $47.49 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $44.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.96. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 46.45%.

Southwest Airlines Company 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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