Strs Ohio Acquires 262,283 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 665.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 301,720 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 262,283 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.06% of Southwest Airlines worth $11,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,255 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.43.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:LUV opened at $50.21 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.34 and a 200-day moving average of $43.59. The company has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for 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 firm’s 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) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.45%.

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.