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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE LUV opened at $34.16 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.13 and a 200-day moving average of $31.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted 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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares in the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,945,000 after buying an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,751,000. 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.