Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded to Buy at Argus

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $35.00 price objective on the airline’s stock. Argus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.14% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $29.88 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.70 and a 200-day moving average of $30.61.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 5.2% during the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 11.5% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by 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.