Needham Investment Management LLC Sells 15,400 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Needham Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,850 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 15,400 shares during the quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,968,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,189,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,403,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth approximately $1,479,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of LUV opened at $47.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS 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 return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LUV. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. HSBC raised Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.56.

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.