Wells Fargo & Company Begins Coverage on Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $45.00 price target on the airline’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.25% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on LUV. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.94.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV traded up $0.59 on Thursday, hitting $41.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 503,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,912,763. The company has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a PE ratio of 63.98, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.17. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $43.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after buying an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock worth $389,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459,235 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $349,182,000 after acquiring an additional 98,290 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock worth $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently 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.