Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys New Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 496,959 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $25,554,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.10% of Southwest Airlines at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV stock opened at $40.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.42. The stock has a market cap of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous 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. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LUV. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target 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, Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.01.

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.