Brokerages Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Price Target at $31.96

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.96.

Several brokerages have weighed in on LUV. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $33.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -480.14, a PEG ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.84.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. 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.