Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.14.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.30 on Monday. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $35.18. The firm has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of -432.79, a P/E/G ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $29.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,028.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Rakesh Gangwal bought 643,788 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,569,773 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,972,362,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 14.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,422,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,792,914,000 after purchasing an additional 7,946,199 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 21.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,828,166 shares of the airline’s stock worth $166,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,496 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth about $48,551,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 629.5% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,590,298 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,305 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.