Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $939,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during Q1, purchasing 25,000 shares valued at about $939,000.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with several funds increasing their positions; overall, 80.82% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by institutional investors.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $48.43, while Southwest also recently reported quarterly earnings in line with EPS estimates and paid a $0.18 quarterly dividend.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 25,000 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $939,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline's stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 47.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline's stock valued at $9,979,000 after acquiring an additional 98,986 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.43.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of LUV opened at $50.21 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.59. The firm has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LUV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.