Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases 16,584 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 667.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,069 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 16,584 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LUV. Bank of America upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Barclays raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.11.

Key Headlines Impacting Southwest Airlines

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Airlines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rare double-upgrade from JPMorgan — JPMorgan upgraded LUV from underweight to overweight and lifted its price target to $60, a large upward move that traders say is the main catalyst for the rally as it signals materially higher earnings expectations. Barron’s: Rare Double Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple price-target raises — Citi and UBS both bumped targets (Citi to $44, UBS to $45), reinforcing the analyst trend higher and supporting upside in the stock as models are re-priced for better forward earnings. Citi price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Broader analyst optimism — Citigroup and other firms published bullish commentary forecasting notable price appreciation based on improving fundamentals and potential margin recovery. Citigroup forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its target to $45 but kept a “neutral” rating — the higher target supports the rally but the retained rating tempers how decisive the firm views near-term upside. Benzinga: Susquehanna note
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic/cabin changes under review — articles on Southwest’s cabin revamp and assigned seating argue these initiatives could reshape unit revenue and customer experience, but benefits depend on execution and timing. Yahoo: Cabin revamp
• Neutral Sentiment: New marketing/partnerships — a legacy partnership with the Chicago Cubs is positive PR and revenue/brand-supportive, but unlikely to move near-term fundamentals materially. MLB press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst landscape — several firms remain cautious/hold-rated (e.g., Wells Fargo), so while sentiment is tilting positive, coverage is not uniformly bullish. Wells Fargo hold

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $44.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.32 and a 200-day moving average of $34.26. The stock has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $45.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 110.77%.

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.