Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.20.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LUV. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.4%

LUV opened at $46.51 on Friday. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $31.15 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.23.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.34%. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,989 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 8,488 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 143.5% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,039 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,498,000 after buying an additional 77,805 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,808,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 999 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,019.9% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,562,940 shares of the airline’s stock worth $63,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,375 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co. is a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States and to destinations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The company also offers air cargo services and operates the Rapid Rewards loyalty program. Founded in 1967 and beginning flight operations in 1971, Southwest grew from a Texas-based carrier into a major U.S. airline. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan, who assumed the role in 2022.