Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Now Covered by Citigroup

Stock analysts at Citigroup began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target on the airline's stock. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.48% from the stock's current price.

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Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.00.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on LUV

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.7%

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LUV opened at $35.69 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a PE ratio of 54.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.64 and a 200 day moving average of $32.61.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline's stock worth $389,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,235 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% during 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 during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the second 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 period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline's stock valued at $218,175,000 after acquiring an additional 577,326 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.

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