JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the airline’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 10.80% from the stock’s previous close.

LUV has been the subject of several other research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.02.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $33.63 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.10 and its 200-day moving average is $31.31. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the 3rd 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 bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,751,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines

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.