Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Increased to $24.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $20.00 to $24.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underperform” rating on the airline’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 18.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LUV. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $28.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Melius restated a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,654,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,548,414. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.88. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $35.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 1.17.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 64,743 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,055 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.4% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 51,395 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,412 shares of the airline’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. 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.