Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $24.00 at TD Cowen

Key Points

• TD Cowen has raised Southwest Airlines' price target to $24.00, maintaining a "hold" rating, which indicates a potential downside of 26.29% from its current price.
• Several analysts have varying ratings and price targets for the airline, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.38.
• Southwest Airlines' recent earnings report showed a missed estimate, with a revenue decrease of 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year, affecting its earnings per share.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by stock analysts at TD Cowen from $21.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a "hold" rating on the airline's stock. TD Cowen's price objective suggests a potential downside of 26.29% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LUV. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $32.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.54. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month 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.

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

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the second 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. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,244,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,433,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,663,000. Finally, Crake Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth $33,738,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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