Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $28.18, but opened at $32.28. Southwest Airlines shares last traded at $30.52, with a volume of 8,902,817 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.80, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.21 and a 200 day moving average of $31.19. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $614,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.