Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.52.

LUV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $34.84 on Monday. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 48.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. On average, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after buying an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at $1,751,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.