Heartland Advisors Inc. Invests $6.56 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 127,577 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $40.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. 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 one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $55.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $47.28 and a 200 day moving average of $44.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LUV. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.55.

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.