Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $30.00 at Citigroup

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sell rating on the airline’s stock.

LUV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.54.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.63, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of 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. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.