Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $37.99 and last traded at $37.4070, with a volume of 7161721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday. Citigroup initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.72 and a 200 day moving average of $32.64.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 110.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,652,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,258,993 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $40,842,000 after buying an additional 18,270 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 8.3% during the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,218 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after buying an additional 9,739 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at about $530,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.5% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 548,423 shares of the airline’s stock worth $17,791,000 after buying an additional 23,381 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently 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.