Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 462,903 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.09% of Southwest Airlines as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.2%

LUV opened at $52.00 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid 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 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LUV. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.36.

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.