Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $48.00

by · The Cerbat Gem

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Free Report) had its target price raised by TD Cowen from $47.00 to $48.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.51.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $42.41 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.34%. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,509,179,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,538,382,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock worth $216,472,000 after buying an additional 117,833 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $234,872,000. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 2,260,841 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $94,141,000 after buying an additional 275,204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also