Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $17.98 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 563,484 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 55,991 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Southwest Airlines worth $17,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $1,652,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,010,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 8.3% during the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,218 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,150,000 after acquiring an additional 9,739 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,447,000 after acquiring an additional 29,665 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 30.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,406,652 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $45,632,000 after purchasing an additional 325,030 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.29.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of LUV opened at $54.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $54.70. The company has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

About Southwest Airlines

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.