UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group has reduced its price target for Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00, while maintaining a "neutral" rating, suggesting a potential upside of 3.47% from the current stock price.
• Other analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with ratings varying from "Buy" to "Sell", and an average target price of $33.38.
• Southwest Airlines has authorized a stock buyback program worth $2.00 billion, indicating that its board believes the shares are currently undervalued.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the airline's stock. UBS Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.47% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LUV. Hsbc Global Res raised Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.89. The stock had a trading volume of 4,294,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,124,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.60. The stock has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a PE ratio of 48.96, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.14% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. The trade was 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

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

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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