Susquehanna Lowers Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $25.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Susquehanna from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective points to a potential downside of 2.57% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI restated an “inline” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.59.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $25.66 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $21.91 and a 12 month high of $39.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.27) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth $247,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 111.2% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 172,792 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,254,000 after acquiring an additional 90,983 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at $726,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 29.8% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 19,457 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 4,469 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently 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.