Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $1.72 Million Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 72.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,369 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,024 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LUV. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,189,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 115,251 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 539,612 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $27,747,000 after acquiring an additional 87,146 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 575,639 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $23,774,000 after purchasing an additional 31,128 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,924,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $147,440,000 after purchasing an additional 176,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LUV shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $39.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.65. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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