Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Acquired by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its Southwest Airlines stake by 56.5% in the first quarter, buying 57,868 more shares and bringing its total to 160,304 shares worth about $6.0 million.
• Southwest Airlines reported Q1 EPS of $0.45, in line with estimates, but revenue of $7.25 billion came in below Wall Street’s $8.46 billion forecast.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share and has received mixed analyst coverage, with an overall Hold rating and an average price target of $49.58.

Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 56.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,304 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 57,868 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $6,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.0%

LUV stock opened at $48.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The company has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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, Weiss Ratings downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.58.

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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