Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Cut to $32.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LUV. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.27.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $24.76 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. 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 50 day simple moving average of $30.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 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.