Southwest Airlines’ (LUV) “Underweight” Rating Reaffirmed at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed their underweight rating on shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a $25.00 price objective on the airline’s stock.

LUV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.62 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.08.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.