Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Susquehanna Analyst Says

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.49% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. HSBC downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. 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 0.49, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,029.32. This represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.