Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.38.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Melius reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.3 %

LUV opened at $29.04 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.50 and its 200-day moving average is $27.95. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $35.18. The company has a market capitalization of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 46.10, a P/E/G ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,990 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 14.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the airline’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,790,654 shares of the airline’s stock worth $311,634,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at $1,223,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 100,351 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 20,694 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.