Analysts Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) PT at $33.38

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.3750.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. HSBC cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $30.30 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.88. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $37.96. The stock has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compass Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 20.9% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 16.2% in the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 74,207 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 10,339 shares in the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 39.9% in the third quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 22,962 shares of the airline’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 6,553 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.3% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 76,008 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 30,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.