Alps Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 774,928 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,410 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Southwest Airlines worth $24,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $54.27 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $54.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.29.

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.