Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Stock Holdings Trimmed by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 503,336 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 74,752 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC owned about 0.10% of Southwest Airlines worth $20,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock worth $389,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,235 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock worth $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,339 shares of the airline’s stock worth $141,213,000 after purchasing an additional 26,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

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

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for 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%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.42.

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.