Towle & Co. Has $10.59 Million Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Towle & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 17.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 331,752 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 67,728 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines accounts for approximately 2.7% of Towle & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Towle & Co.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $10,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,303,000 after buying an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.7% in the second quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 10,378 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.5% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 55,953 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.0%

LUV opened at $52.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.12. The firm has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 62.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $55.11. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $51.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.14.

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.