Brokerages Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Price Target at $31.27

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.27.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE LUV opened at $26.22 on Friday. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.46.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 44.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 37,793 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 101,605 shares of the airline’s stock worth $3,011,000 after buying an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $826,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,482,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.