Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $31.27 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.88.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $25.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.40. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third 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, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 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.