GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys Shares of 23,633 Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,633 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LUV. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $43.31 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $29.26 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $21.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 44.17%.

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.