Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded by Melius Research to “Hold” Rating

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Melius Research from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $34.00 price objective on the airline’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $28.00. Melius Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 1.09% from the stock’s previous close.

LUV has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price target (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $33.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.71, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.31.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.