Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $29.00 price objective on the airline’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $32.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s target price points to a potential upside of 3.20% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.88.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $28.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $36.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 506,762 shares of the airline’s stock worth $14,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124,054 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,236 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 378,428 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $10,929,000 after buying an additional 103,834 shares during the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $244,000. Finally, Compton Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.