Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives Average Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.88.

Several research firms have recently commented on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $608,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:LUV traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.95. The stock had a trading volume of 4,452,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,845,625. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.33 and a 200 day moving average of $31.44. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.