Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Barclays

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price lifted by analysts at Barclays from $26.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the airline’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 0.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. HSBC began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, April 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.36.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock opened at $26.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $39.53. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.29.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 374.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 664 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.