Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $33.58, but opened at $32.72. Southwest Airlines shares last traded at $32.48, with a volume of 3,188,446 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $18.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.32, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day moving average of $31.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $608,000. Hedge funds and other 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.