Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by Citigroup from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sell" rating on the airline's stock. Citigroup's target price would suggest a potential downside of 5.46% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LUV. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.32.

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Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV traded down $1.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,002,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,503,136. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.60.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWC Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline's stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 55,458 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 10,123 shares during the period. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $638,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $131,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.