Sanford C. Bernstein Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $26.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the airline's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target would suggest a potential downside of 5.18% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on LUV. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. UBS Group began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.24.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $1.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $27.42. The stock had a trading volume of 10,740,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,083,590. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $39.53. 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 (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The firm's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 26,568 shares of the airline's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 11,540 shares of the airline's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 12,216 shares of the airline's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6.4% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 274,594 shares of the airline's stock valued at $7,433,000 after acquiring an additional 16,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $75,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.