Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $43.52 and traded as high as $46.74. Southwest Airlines shares last traded at $46.4550, with a volume of 8,451,761 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.52. The company has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.34%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $2,509,179,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,538,382,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $234,872,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,295,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,069,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company provides scheduled air transportation for leisure and business travelers, with service connecting cities throughout the United States and selected destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Southwest is known for its predominantly domestic network and point-to-point operating model. In addition to passenger flights, the company offers ancillary services and air cargo transportation.