Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Citigroup from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sell” rating on the airline’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 10.65% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.54.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12.

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

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $608,000. 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.