Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $34.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective decreased by Susquehanna from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.08.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.47. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline’s stock worth $100,080,000 after purchasing an additional 46,110 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $73,636,000 after purchasing an additional 133,366 shares in the last quarter. 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.