Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 852.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,958 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $52.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $55.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.