Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Norges Bank bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,162,540 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $172,038,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.85% of Southwest Airlines at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock worth $389,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,235 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,425,339 shares of the airline’s stock worth $141,213,000 after purchasing an additional 26,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LUV shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Nine 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.21.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $41.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $28.98 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.79.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.45%.

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.