Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded at UBS Group

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by stock analysts at UBS Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $36.00 price objective on the airline’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $29.00. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.04% from the stock’s previous close.

LUV has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $33.63 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.31. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The firm has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 46.71, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.