Brokerages Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Price Target at $31.53

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.53.

LUV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,551 shares of the airline's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,644 shares of the airline's stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 51,445 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $311,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.29. The stock had a trading volume of 9,860,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,227,438. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. The business's fifty day moving average price is $29.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.14. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.36) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.71%.

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.