Brokerages Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Target Price at $33.38

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.3750.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LUV shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.3%

LUV opened at $30.40 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.77, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.97.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $710,029.32. This represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,712 shares of the airline’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,410 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,937 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,625 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the airline’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by 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.