Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC Invests $1.85 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 49,165 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,847,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,038,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,450,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,320,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LUV. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 report on Thursday, June 25th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Nine 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $49.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.12 and a 200-day moving average of $44.07. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend 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.