First National Bank of Omaha Acquires New Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 115,732 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $5,972,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $42.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.66. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $29.26 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Southwest Airlines Profile

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.