Susquehanna Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $34.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Susquehanna’s price target suggests a potential downside of 4.47% from the stock’s previous close.

LUV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.93.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.17. The stock had a trading volume of 4,259,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,640,268. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.51 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. 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’s 50-day moving average is $31.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.62.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 13.7% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 9,783 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 344.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,830 shares of the airline’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 4,519 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.