Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Stake Raised by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its Southwest Airlines stake by 4.7% in the first quarter, ending with 3.92 million shares worth about $147.4 million.
• Institutional interest in LUV remains high, with several other funds adding positions and institutions collectively owning about 80.82% of the stock.
• Analysts are split on Southwest: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $49.58, while recent reports included both upgrades and target increases.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,924,407 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 176,742 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.80% of Southwest Airlines worth $147,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $172,038,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline's stock valued at $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $143,450,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,320,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $48.09 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $28.98 and a twelve month high of $55.11. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.12.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

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