Sanford C. Bernstein Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $26.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective reduced by Sanford C. Bernstein from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the airline’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a buy rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $30.24.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $27.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Motco increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 151.0% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. 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.