Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Invests $757,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 23,736 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the airline’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,791 shares of the airline’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 83,070 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 11.0% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,545 shares of the airline’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.42.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock opened at $39.34 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.00. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 46.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.