Southwest Airlines' (LUV) Hold (C) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Southwest Airlines has had its "hold (c)" rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings, amidst a broader consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts.
• Recent price target adjustments from firms like Barclays and UBS have lifted their estimates for Southwest Airlines, with targets ranging from $24.00 to $35.00.
• The company is initiating a $2.00 billion stock buyback program, indicating that its board believes the stock is currently undervalued.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reissued by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LUV. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $32.49 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $37.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's fifty day moving average is $31.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.50.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 49,688,308 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,668,533,000 after purchasing an additional 788,255 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline's stock valued at $349,182,000 after purchasing an additional 98,290 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline's stock valued at $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,602,939 shares of the airline's stock valued at $120,987,000 after purchasing an additional 136,410 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,857,308 shares of the airline's stock valued at $95,948,000 after purchasing an additional 321,258 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is 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.

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