Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,700 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 36,345 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.14.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV stock opened at $52.10 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $55.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 62.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $45.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.