UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at UBS Group from $27.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the airline’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 14.15% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.08.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $33.78 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.88. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -482.57, a P/E/G ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.