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) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,530 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $29.20 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.44 and its 200 day moving average is $31.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 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, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.