Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $34.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target boosted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $31.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the airline’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 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 research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 5.3%

LUV opened at $32.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.42.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Corsicana & Co. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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.