Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases New Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 21,525 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $2,189,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 115,251 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 539,612 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $27,747,000 after purchasing an additional 87,146 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 575,639 shares of the airline’s stock worth $23,774,000 after purchasing an additional 31,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 39,437 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,630,000 after purchasing an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $40.70 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.25. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

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.