Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $34.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $33.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.00.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $35.45 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.59 and its 200 day moving average is $32.59. The firm has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.53, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 110.77%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at about $62,340,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth about $56,244,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth about $50,433,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.