Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Sanford C. Bernstein Analyst Says

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $30.00 to $33.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the airline’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 0.72% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on LUV. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.37.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0 %

LUV stock opened at $33.24 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.88. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -479.43, a PEG ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal acquired 643,788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 18,306 shares of the airline’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.4% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,918 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 383 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.