Aberdeen Group plc Has $4.84 Million Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 147,700 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 36,345 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $349,182,000 after buying an additional 98,290 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised 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 purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 12.6% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock worth $61,140,000 after purchasing an additional 214,092 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 30.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,406,652 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,632,000 after purchasing an additional 325,030 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $41,663,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $52.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $45.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.12. The stock has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 62.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $55.11. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 firm 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 firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.14.

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.