United Community Bank Invests $85,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

United Community Bank bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,530 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $614,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,945,000 after buying an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LUV. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.1 %

LUV stock opened at $29.20 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.44 and a 200-day moving average of $31.17.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines Profile

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.