Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Position Increased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management increased its Southwest Airlines stake by 12.2% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 718,567 shares valued at approximately $36.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.82% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on Southwest, with an average price target of $48.01; ratings include nine Buys, ten Holds and three Sells.
• Southwest exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.94 in EPS versus a $0.52 estimate and $8.72 billion in revenue. The company also paid a $0.18 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.7% annualized yield.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 12.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 718,567 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 77,989 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.15% of Southwest Airlines worth $36,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 218.8% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 93,837 shares of the airline's stock valued at $4,825,000 after purchasing an additional 64,402 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 75.1% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 814,820 shares of the airline's stock worth $41,898,000 after purchasing an additional 349,394 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 22,992 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 140,652 shares of the airline's stock valued at $7,232,000 after buying an additional 13,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,339 shares of the airline's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.01.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0%

LUV opened at $42.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.65. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $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. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Southwest Airlines Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Operating under the Southwest Airlines brand, the company provides scheduled air transportation for domestic and international travelers and also offers air cargo services.

Southwest was founded in 1967 and began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The airline expanded its network across the United States and now serves numerous destinations in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and other nearby international markets.

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