Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Increased to $25.00 by Analysts at TD Cowen

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective lifted by TD Cowen from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a hold rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a strong sell rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Southwest Airlines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $29.00.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $29.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.94, a PEG ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.81 and a 200-day moving average of $27.89. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $35.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rakesh Gangwal bought 643,788 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at $108,117,203.78. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.