UBS Group Increases Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $34.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at UBS Group from $27.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the airline's stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential upside of 0.09% from the company's current price.

LUV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.31.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $33.97. 7,706,536 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,259,783. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $19.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm's 50-day moving average is $32.02 and its 200 day moving average is $31.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.36) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

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.