Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) PT Lowered to $26.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the airline’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price points to a potential downside of 3.70% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on LUV. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.24.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.5 %

LUV opened at $27.00 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.63. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $39.53. The stock has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a PE ratio of 42.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 378,428 shares of the airline’s stock worth $10,929,000 after buying an additional 103,834 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 506,762 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $14,635,000 after purchasing an additional 124,054 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,077,158 shares of the airline’s stock worth $83,299,000 after acquiring an additional 23,715 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 24.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 823,779 shares of the airline’s stock worth $22,506,000 after purchasing an additional 163,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 95,911 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after purchasing an additional 25,268 shares in the last quarter. 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.