Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $35.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price upped by Evercore ISI from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the airline’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.31.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.3%

LUV stock opened at $32.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.54. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.96, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.08). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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.