Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $48.20 According to Analysts

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-three brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.20.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LUV. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Tigress Financial started coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, October 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $46.33 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $41.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.23. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $31.15 and a 1 year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.25 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,117 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 88.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 31,055 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 14,564 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 57.4% during the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 7,276 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.8% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 77,801 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,240,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 5,371 shares of the airline’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines