Monetta Financial Services Inc. Invests $1.39 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Monetta Financial Services acquired 27,000 Southwest Airlines shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.39 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.82% of the airline’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: nine analysts rate LUV a Buy, nine Hold and four Sell, producing an overall “Hold” rating with an average price target of $49.55.
• Southwest beat quarterly earnings expectations with $0.94 in EPS versus the $0.52 consensus and $8.72 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equivalent to a 1.7% annual yield.

Monetta Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 27,000 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $1,388,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth $1,538,382,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline's stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline's stock worth $257,423,000 after purchasing an additional 244,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline's stock worth $216,472,000 after purchasing an additional 117,833 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $41.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.14. The business's 50 day moving average price is $47.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.61.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 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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