UBS Group Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities research analysts at UBS Group in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $43.00 price objective on the airline’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $33.00. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.50% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.29.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.0%

LUV opened at $41.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 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 has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $42.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock worth $389,879,000 after buying an additional 1,459,235 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $349,182,000 after buying an additional 98,290 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after buying an additional 9,716,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $218,175,000 after acquiring an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Airlines

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.