Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $60.00 price target on the airline’s stock, up from their prior price target of $36.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 39.93% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LUV. TD Cowen upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.56.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $42.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.15. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $43.54. The stock has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.97, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 19,729 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $645,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.