Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Southwest Airlines was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting potential stability in the stock's performance.
• TD Cowen raised its target price for the airline from $21 to $24, while Barclays increased theirs from $26 to $34, indicating positive shifts in analyst outlooks.
• The company authorized a $2 billion stock buyback program, suggesting that the board believes the stock is currently undervalued.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $32.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.65.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 81.4% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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