Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,350 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,765 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $7,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 143,950 shares of the airline’s stock worth $5,949,000 after purchasing an additional 7,824 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,189,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LUV. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. HSBC raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.11.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $40.85 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.13. The firm has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $28.98 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

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.