Southwest Airlines Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the airline on Thursday, September 24th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd.

Southwest Airlines has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years. Southwest Airlines has a dividend payout ratio of 28.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Southwest Airlines to earn $5.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.4%.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $45.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $55.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.37. The company has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $172,038,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $143,450,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,320,000. Finally, Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd now owns 2,800,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $115,724,000 after buying an additional 1,200,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.