Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the airline’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on LUV. Susquehanna lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a positive rating to a neutral rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, December 16th. They issued a neutral rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $68.00 to $63.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $52.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $47.27.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $30.03 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $29.41 and a 12 month high of $50.10. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.35). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.26% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 7th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.00%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 247.5% in the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 74.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Airlines

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Southwest Airlines Co engages in the operation and management of a passenger airline. The firm also offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. It operates in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.