ING Groep NV Raises Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 441.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 592,935 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 483,525 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.12% of Southwest Airlines worth $24,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,450,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,340,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $41.61 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $55.11. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. 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 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.21.

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.