Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $31.78 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.78.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LUV. Barclays boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline's stock worth $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline's stock worth $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline's stock worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline's stock worth $95,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $85,262,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV traded down $0.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.87. 4,866,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,228,358. The stock has a market cap of $17.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.54, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.17 and a 200 day moving average of $30.74. 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 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 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.