Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $31.72 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.52.

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $34.84 on Monday. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.16 and a 200 day moving average of $31.37.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWC Advisors LLC. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 55,458 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 10,123 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $638,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $131,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.