Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.27.

LUV has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Paladin Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 16,366 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 10.0% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 525,042 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $17,631,000 after acquiring an additional 47,632 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 16.3% during the first quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 136,125 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,571,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,081,622 shares of the airline’s stock worth $36,321,000 after purchasing an additional 36,822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $25.75 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 35.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.