South Dakota Investment Council Sells 68,148 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

South Dakota Investment Council decreased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 38.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,926 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 68,148 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 buying an additional 577,326 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock worth $257,423,000 after buying an additional 244,891 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock worth $216,472,000 after buying an additional 117,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,038,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $45.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 0.38 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 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.37.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.55.

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.