TD Cowen Trims Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Target Price to $25.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price lowered by research analysts at TD Cowen from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the airline’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential downside of 8.27% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI reissued an “inline” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group started coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.76.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $27.26 on Friday. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $39.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.27) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,104 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,818,000 after acquiring an additional 33,660 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 91,040 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,464,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Country Club Bank GFN lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 109,133 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 4,207 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 38,166 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 77,883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,558 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.