Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Cut to $25.00 by Analysts at Susquehanna

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $34.00 to $25.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 4.47% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.93.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.17. 4,259,523 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,640,268. The company has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.62.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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. The trade was a 35.69 % 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. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 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.