Jefferies Financial Group Boosts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $34.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $33.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the airline’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 4.73% from the stock’s current price.

LUV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.00.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $35.69 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.61. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.91, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.