Bank of Nova Scotia Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Free Report) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 21,525 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,189,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 115,251 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its position 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $23,774,000 after purchasing an additional 31,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 250.1% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 39,437 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.3%

LUV opened at $40.70 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. 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 analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.01.

Get Our Latest Analysis on LUV

About Southwest Airlines

(Free Report)

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.

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