Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Southwest by 0.8%, selling 463,696 shares and leaving it with 60,577,139 shares (≈11.71%) valued at about $2.50 billion.
• Other institutions ramped up exposure—Ameriprise bought 3.75M shares (+43.7%), SG Americas added ~3.61M shares (+2,468.4%), and MFS opened a new ~$143.5M position—leaving hedge funds/institutions owning 80.82% of the stock.
• Analysts are mixed (consensus rating: Hold, target $44.11); Southwest reported Q1 EPS $0.45 (in line) but missed revenue, set Q2 guidance of $0.35–$0.65 EPS, and shares trade around $37.22 (market cap ~$18.2B).

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,577,139 shares of the airline's stock after selling 463,696 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.71% of Southwest Airlines worth $2,503,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline's stock worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline's stock worth $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,450,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,340,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline's stock worth $389,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,235 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Airlines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Argus dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.11.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $37.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.37. The firm has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $26.61 and a twelve month high of $55.11.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.Southwest Airlines's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio 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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