Brokerages Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) PT at $28.38

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.38.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LUV. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI raised Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $29.51 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 46.84, a PEG ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $35.18. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LUV. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 179.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.