Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 14,092 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 71.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,920 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,092 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $155,085,000 after buying an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,912,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,357,558. The company has a market cap of $23.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.86.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LUV. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.58.

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.