33,369 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 33,369 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in 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 during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth approximately $1,538,382,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after buying an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock worth $257,423,000 after buying an additional 244,891 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $216,472,000 after buying an additional 117,833 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $40.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.42.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

About Southwest Airlines

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.