Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Rating Increased to Neutral at UBS Group

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $36.00 target price on the airline's stock, up from their previous target price of $29.00. UBS Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.13% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on LUV. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.52.

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Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $34.91. 16,493,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,130,037. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.43. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.48, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.