Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $30.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $25.00 to $30.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the airline’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $34.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.13 and a 200-day moving average of $31.33. The company has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline’s stock worth $475,092,000 after purchasing an additional 320,421 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline’s stock worth $205,476,000 after purchasing an additional 372,313 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $202,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391,495 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.