SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 2,690,289 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 71.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,062,063 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,690,289 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.22% of Southwest Airlines worth $39,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock worth $257,423,000 after purchasing an additional 244,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,339 shares of the airline’s stock worth $141,213,000 after purchasing an additional 26,608 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.95.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $49.38 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.92. The stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued 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. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 46.45%.

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.