CenterBook Partners LP Buys New Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,703 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $373,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth $27,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Evercore raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.14.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $52.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.41 and a 200-day moving average of $37.17.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

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.