Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $29.00 at UBS Group

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sell rating on the airline’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, November 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.55.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of LUV opened at $32.80 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $32.74 and its 200 day moving average is $29.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of -468.57, a P/E/G ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,028.57%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.