Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.78.

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after purchasing an additional 426,878 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after buying an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline’s stock worth $475,092,000 after acquiring an additional 320,421 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $205,476,000 after acquiring an additional 372,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $202,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,391,495 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.19 on Thursday. 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 $17.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.93, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.06 and its 200 day moving average is $30.91. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s 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.