Man Group plc Invests $3.38 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 65,642 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $3,375,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 19,729 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline’s stock worth $9,979,000 after purchasing an additional 98,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on LUV shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $38.54 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.94. The stock has a market cap of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 44.17%.

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.