State Street Corp Sells 192,816 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• State Street reduced its Southwest Airlines position by 192,816 shares, or 0.7%, but still held nearly 29.3 million shares worth approximately $1.51 billion, representing 5.99% of the company. Institutional investors collectively owned 80.82% of LUV.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating from 22 analysts and an average price target of $48.30, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $42.18.
• Southwest exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.94 EPS versus the $0.52 consensus estimate and $8.72 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18, equivalent to a 1.7% annualized yield.

State Street Corp cut its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,326,975 shares of the airline's stock after selling 192,816 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 5.99% of Southwest Airlines worth $1,513,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LUV. MCF Advisors LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.0% in the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,015 shares of the airline's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 109.4% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 871 shares of the airline's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 8.0% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,738 shares of the airline's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,131 shares of the airline's stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.30.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $42.18 on Wednesday. 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 $20.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.13. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $55.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $43.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.68.

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 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 for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 44.17%.

About Southwest Airlines

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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