Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Barclays upgraded the stock from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating. Barclays now has a $56.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $34.00. Southwest Airlines traded as high as $43.54 and last traded at $42.1680, with a volume of 12550390 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.72.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.94.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 161,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 42,832 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,278,112 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $42,919,000 after acquiring an additional 72,265 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 122.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,787 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.7% during the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 152,939 shares of the airline’s stock worth $5,136,000 after purchasing an additional 9,617 shares during the period. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.4% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 24,423 shares of the airline’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.27 and a 200-day moving average of $33.18. The company has a market cap of $21.07 billion, a PE ratio of 62.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%.The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 110.77%.

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.