Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has received an average rating of “Reduce” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.96.

LUV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.2 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.62 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.74. The company has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of -480.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 689,199 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $20,421,000 after buying an additional 21,805 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,057,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.