Southwest Airlines (LUV) Upgraded to Overweight at Atlantic Securities

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by research analysts at Atlantic Securities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $71.00 price target on the airline’s stock, up from their previous price target of $48.71. Atlantic Securities’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley set a $64.00 price target on Southwest Airlines and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Vetr cut Southwest Airlines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $59.16 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $64.00 price target (down previously from $65.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, October 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.89.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE LUV) traded up $0.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $63.85. The company had a trading volume of 5,061,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,217,865. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $48.71 and a fifty-two week high of $64.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $37,638.57, a PE ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.34.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The airline reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, Director John T. Montford sold 1,695 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.27, for a total value of $107,242.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,461,410.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John T. Montford sold 935 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.94, for a total transaction of $50,433.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,348,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,662 shares of company stock valued at $159,563 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.4% in the third quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 1,585,066 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $88,732,000 after buying an additional 66,544 shares in the last quarter. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 17.1% in the third quarter. TrimTabs Asset Management LLC now owns 6,769 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 990 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.3% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 441,505 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $24,715,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 50.1% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 14,410 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 4,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Institutional investors own 78.87% of the company’s stock.

TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: This piece of content was originally reported by American Market News and is the sole property of of American Market News. If you are accessing this piece of content on another website, it was illegally copied and reposted in violation of international trademark & copyright laws. The original version of this piece of content can be accessed at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2017/12/14/southwest-airlines-luv-upgraded-to-overweight-at-atlantic-securities.html.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co (Southwest) operates Southwest Airlines, a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States and near-international markets. The Company provides point-to-point service. The Company offers ancillary service offerings, such as Southwest’s EarlyBird Check-In and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors, in accordance with Southwest’s respective policies.