Susquehanna Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $34.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price dropped by Susquehanna from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.99% from the stock’s previous close.

LUV has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.08.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $30.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,290,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,273,272. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.45. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.16, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $7,645,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,963,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $614,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.