Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.88.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,102.49. This represents a 32.74% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $31.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average price is $30.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.10. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 7.27%. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.36) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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