Brokerages Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) PT at $42.11

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.7895.

Several research firms have recently commented on LUV. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Seaport Global Securities boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $389,879,000 after buying an additional 1,459,235 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $349,182,000 after buying an additional 98,290 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock worth $328,305,000 after buying an additional 9,716,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after acquiring an additional 577,326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of LUV traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $43.14. 6,841,368 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,192,255. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $45.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.64. The firm has a market cap of $22.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The airline reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.15 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.77%.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.