Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Position Reduced by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,791,167 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,072,705 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $322,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LUV. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $45.50 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.29.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

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.