Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Southwest Airlines stake by 43.5% in the first quarter, selling 854,577 shares and retaining 1.11 million shares valued at approximately $41.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.82% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with nine Buy, nine Hold and four Sell ratings; Southwest has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.55.
• Southwest reported quarterly earnings of $0.94 per share, exceeding the $0.52 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $8.72 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% yield.

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 43.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,107,727 shares of the airline's stock after selling 854,577 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.23% of Southwest Airlines worth $41,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the airline's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,148 shares of the airline's stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,063 shares of the airline's stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,437 shares of the airline's stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,726 shares of the airline's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. HSBC raised Southwest Airlines from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $44.98 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.38. 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 (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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Southwest Airlines Company 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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