Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $29.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $27.00 to $29.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $32.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -468.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.95. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,028.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.