Citigroup Raises Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $31.50

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $28.25 to $31.50 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the airline’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LUV. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI raised Southwest Airlines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a strong sell rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $29.21.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.4 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $31.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $21.91 and a 12 month high of $35.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.92.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rakesh Gangwal bought 643,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

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

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.