Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 848,030 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,996,113 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 848,030 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines makes up approximately 1.2% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 9.28% of Southwest Airlines worth $1,531,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 51,956 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 14,162 shares of the airline’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 20.9% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $266,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.14.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $49.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.49 billion, a PE ratio of 59.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. On average, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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

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.