Sanford C. Bernstein Boosts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $34.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $31.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the airline’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.31% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.1%

LUV opened at $31.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.20, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.39. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $37.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.