Susquehanna Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $25.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Susquehanna from $34.00 to $25.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the airline's stock.

LUV has been the subject of several other reports. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.27.

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Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of LUV traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.22. 13,412,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,863,876. The stock has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.45. 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 has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline's stock valued at $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,641,564 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,262,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline's stock valued at $202,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $57,724,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

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.