Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Receives Sell Rating from Citigroup

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)‘s stock had its “sell” rating reiterated by Citigroup in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $29.50 price objective on the airline’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $31.50. Citigroup’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 10.14% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on LUV. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $32.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of -469.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.07. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd 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. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,959,857 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $48,551,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 629.5% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,590,298 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,305 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.