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

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 774,928 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,410 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $24,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $349,182,000 after purchasing an additional 98,290 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock worth $328,305,000 after buying an additional 9,716,160 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,406,652 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $45,632,000 after acquiring an additional 325,030 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,663,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 315.3% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,247,837 shares of the airline’s stock worth $40,480,000 after acquiring an additional 947,346 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE LUV opened at $54.27 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $54.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $42.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.72. The stock 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 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. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seaport Research Partners upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.29.

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.