HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 80,032 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 67.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 198,322 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 80,032 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $6,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $50.81 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $45.59 and its 200-day moving average is $37.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.49, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.14.

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.