Vest Financial LLC Buys 595,759 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 22nd, 2026

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Free Report) by 133.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,043,802 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 595,759 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $43,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 115,251 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted 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 worth $27,747,000 after purchasing an additional 87,146 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 93,837 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,825,000 after purchasing an additional 64,402 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth $17,913,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,924,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $147,440,000 after purchasing an additional 176,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LUV

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $39.85 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.68 and a 200-day moving average of $42.86. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

Southwest Airlines News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Airlines this week:

Positive Sentiment: Southwest reported third-quarter revenue of $8.42 billion, up 21.2% year over year and above the $8.25 billion analyst consensus. Passenger revenue increased 22.8%, supported by strong demand, higher fares and increased fees. Southwest Airlines Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.66, beating expectations of $0.57. Operating income reached $379 million, while the operating margin expanded year over year to 4.5%, indicating that revenue growth outpaced much of the increase in expenses. Southwest Airlines Shares Rise After Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
Positive Sentiment: The airline set records for revenue and passenger sales despite slightly lower capacity, suggesting improved pricing power and continued demand for Southwest’s service. The company ended the quarter with approximately $5.6 billion in liquidity and returned $176 million through dividends. Southwest Airlines Stock Rises Despite Higher Fuel Expenses
Neutral Sentiment: Management forecast fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.55 to $0.80, providing a range for investors as the airline enters a more challenging cost environment.
Negative Sentiment: Fuel expense increased by $821 million from a year earlier as crude oil prices climbed above $110 per barrel. The increase is pressuring margins and offsetting some of the benefit from stronger fares and fees. Southwest Airlines Cuts 2026 Profit Forecast on Higher Fuel
Negative Sentiment: Southwest reduced its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $2.60-$2.85 because of higher fuel costs. The lowered forecast is the main risk to the stock’s earnings-driven move higher and keeps attention on fuel prices and fourth-quarter profitability. Southwest Airlines Cuts 2026 Profit Forecast as Fuel Costs Spike

About Southwest Airlines

(Free Report)

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company provides scheduled air transportation for leisure and business travelers, with service connecting cities throughout the United States and selected destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Southwest is known for its predominantly domestic network and point-to-point operating model. In addition to passenger flights, the company offers ancillary services and air cargo transportation.