Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Stock Holdings Reduced by Kercheville Advisors LLC

Kercheville Advisors LLC reduced its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 30.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 90,174 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 39,350 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines makes up about 1.1% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $3,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised 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 valued at $155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,255 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Susquehanna reduced 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 note on Thursday, April 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.95.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $49.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.92. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $28.98 and a 1-year high of $55.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for 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%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.