Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Position Boosted by Inceptionr LLC

Inceptionr LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 81.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,418 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,432 shares during the quarter. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $268,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 97.0% during the 4th quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 102,436 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,234,000 after acquiring an additional 50,428 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 19,828 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 11,325 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $41.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.13. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 46.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Argus lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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.