Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $33.06 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.0625.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $31.50 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $37.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.73, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.26.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.