Tigress Financial Begins Coverage on Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Analysts at Tigress Financial began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the airline’s stock. Tigress Financial‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 46.19% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on LUV. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $42.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.75 and a 200 day moving average of $43.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 45.5% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,102 shares of the airline’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 55,999 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,356,000 after buying an additional 4,178 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $531,000. Third View Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,298 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 11,537.5% in the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the airline’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company provides scheduled air transportation for leisure and business travelers, with service connecting cities throughout the United States and selected destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Southwest is known for its predominantly domestic network and point-to-point operating model. In addition to passenger flights, the company offers ancillary services and air cargo transportation.