Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238,840 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 21,991 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $9,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 12.6% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock worth $61,140,000 after purchasing an additional 214,092 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $2,010,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the fourth 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. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $31,968,000. Finally, Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $1,403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.11.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $38.82 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.35. The company has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.79 and a fifty-two 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 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 firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.45%.

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.