Cozad Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 17,805 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $172,038,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,450,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,320,000. Finally, Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 75.0% during the fourth quarter. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd now owns 2,800,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $115,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $46.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.40. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LUV. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.55.

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.