Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Cut to $32.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $37.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the airline’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.47% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. StockNews.com lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Melius reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.31.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $27.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 43.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $39.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.32.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.27) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,926 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 17,383 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 64,743 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,055 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.