Penserra Capital Management LLC Acquires 15,486 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 28,677.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,540 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,486 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after acquiring an additional 9,716,160 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $41,663,000. Crake Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,738,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 315.3% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,247,837 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $40,480,000 after purchasing an additional 947,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at $24,330,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $56.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.29.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $54.27 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.71. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $54.70. The firm has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.