First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 146,559 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 651,106 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 146,559 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.13% of Southwest Airlines worth $24,462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Nine 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 data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $46.41 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $46.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business's revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. 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, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

About Southwest Airlines

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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