Citigroup Reaffirms Sell Rating for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reissued by analysts at Citigroup in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $29.50 target price on the airline’s stock, down from their prior target price of $31.50. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential downside of 8.37% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on LUV. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased 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. Raymond James increased 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, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.31.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.1 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -459.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $7,645,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $609,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth $2,963,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.