Raymond James Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price upped by research analysts at Raymond James from $40.00 to $42.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the airline’s stock. Raymond James’ price target suggests a potential upside of 32.35% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LUV. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE LUV traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,602,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,797,298. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.