Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Rating Upgraded by Melius

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by research analysts at Melius from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $34.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.16 and a 200-day moving average of $31.37. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 48.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. CWC Advisors LLC. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 55,458 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 10,123 shares during the period. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $638,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $131,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.