BMO Capital Markets Initiates Coverage on Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the airline’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.45% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on LUV. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.88.

Get Our Latest Report on Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.1%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $37.90 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $38.37. The company has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.1% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 4,690 shares of the airline’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the airline’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,791 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 83,070 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also