Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 20,400 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 81.4% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Seaport Research Partners increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 4.9%

LUV opened at $51.44 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $54.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 61.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.