Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) to Issue $0.18 Quarterly Dividend

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the airline on Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th.

Southwest Airlines has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years. Southwest Airlines has a payout ratio of 28.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Southwest Airlines to earn $2.36 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.5%.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $52.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.61. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $52.97.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,148 shares of the airline’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,726 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,268 shares of the airline’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.