Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $27.00 to $29.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sell" rating on the airline's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential downside of 11.59% from the stock's previous close.
Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas raised Southwest Airlines to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.55.
Read Our Latest Report on LUV
Southwest Airlines Stock Down 3.0 %
LUV traded down $1.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.80. 8,368,202 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,596,147. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $32.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.91. The stock has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -468.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.14.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines
In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% during the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline's stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 18,306 shares of the airline's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.4% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,918 shares of the airline's stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Southwest Airlines
(
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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.
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