Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Sees Large Volume Increase

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 2,786,273 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the previous session’s volume of 9,204,052 shares.The stock last traded at $27.28 and had previously closed at $26.97.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LUV. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.36.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 243,546 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $6,593,000 after purchasing an additional 36,283 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1,325.4% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,536 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 20,955 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 18,740 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares in the last quarter. Leibman Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $4,447,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $1,091,000. Institutional investors 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.