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

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 9.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 563,484 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 55,991 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $17,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,791 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,547 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wallace Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,050 shares of the airline’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $54.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.45 and a 200-day moving average of $35.71. The company has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $54.70.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’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, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on LUV. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently 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.