Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Rating Increased to Buy at Argus

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $35.00 target price on the airline’s stock. Argus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 16.18% from the company’s current price.

LUV has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $30.13 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 74,290 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 19,173 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 152,900 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,141,000 after purchasing an additional 30,754 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,026 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 96.5% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 128,359 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,315,000 after purchasing an additional 63,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.