SageGuard Financial Group LLC Invests $1.15 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

SageGuard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 30,617 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd 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 lifted its position 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Argus dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.36.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $52.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.22. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.45%.

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.