Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $29.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $26.00 to $29.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sell rating on the airline’s stock.

LUV has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.79.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $43.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a PE ratio of 66.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $45.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.56.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The airline reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 110.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at $477,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.3% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 139,295 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after buying an additional 3,170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.