UBS Group Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $33.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price cut by UBS Group from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the airline’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on LUV. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.6%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.16 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.77%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at $427,012.29. The trade was a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is 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.