Argus Upgrades Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) to “Buy”

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $35.00 price objective on the airline’s stock. Argus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 16.18% from the company’s previous close.

LUV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $30.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.58. The stock has a market cap of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 74,290 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 19,173 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 152,900 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,141,000 after acquiring an additional 30,754 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,026 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 128,359 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,315,000 after purchasing an additional 63,051 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is 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.