Southwest Airlines’ (LUV) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James restated their outperform rating on shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $30.00 price objective on the airline’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $33.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LUV. UBS Group assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI reiterated an inline rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $30.71.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $26.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.57. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.27) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 374.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.