Consumer Discretionary

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: Our 12-month target of $32, up $8, is 21x our ’25 EPS view (started at $1.53; ’24’s cut to $1.23 from $1.97), below LUV’s five-year historical average of 30x. We believe a discount is merited due to rising unit costs. Q4 EPS of $0.37 vs. a loss per share of $0.38, beat consensus by $0.24. Revenues grew 12% Y/Y while capacity rose by 21% Y/Y. LUV released its ’24 outlook, expecting its unit costs to rise 6%-7% on 6% capacity growth; however, we think unit costs could grow more than LUV expects, given the recent labor deal increasing its pilots’ pay by +50% over the next five years, while persistent delays in aircraft deliveries continue to keep maintenance costs elevated. In addition, LUV anticipates capex to be

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Analyst Ratings Date Upside/Downside Analyst Firm Price Target Change Rating Change Previous / Current Rating 01/26/2024 18.5% Raymond James $34 → $36 Maintains Outperform 01/08/2024 -21% Bernstein $29 → $24 Downgrades Market Perform → Underperform 01/02/2024 15.21% Evercore ISI Group → $35 Downgrades Outperform → In-Line 12/18/2023 -1.25% Citigroup $25 → $30 Maintains Neutral 11/27/2023 11.92% Raymond James $36 → $34 Maintains Outperform 11/13/2023 — Melius Research Downgrades Hold → Sell 11/10/2023 — Exane BNP Paribas Downgrades Neutral → Underperform 10/31/2023 -24.29% Susquehanna $25 → $23 Maintains Neutral 10/31/2023 54.71% Morgan Stanley $50 → $47 Maintains Overweight 10/27/2023 -34.17% TD Cowen $26 → $20 Downgrades Outperform → Market Perform 10/11/2023 -17.71% Susquehanna $30 → $25 Maintains Neutral 10/05/2023 18.5% Raymond James $40 → $36 Maintains Outperform 10/02/2023 — Morgan Stanley Maintains Overweight 09/29/2023 -34.17% Jefferies $25 → $20 Maintains Underperform 09/26/2023 -4.54% Bernstein $32 → $29

Southwest Airlines is one of the most mentioned companies in the U.S. across all news items in the last 12 hours, according to Factiva data. Southwest had a loss of $219 million, or 37 cents a share, in the fourth quarter. Revenue rose almost 11% to $6.82 billion, above the $6.75 billion analysts expected, according to Factset. Adjusted earnings were 37 cents a share, well above analysts’ expectations for 12 cents a share. Southwest said it plans to increase flying capacity by about 10% in the first three months of 2024, and about 6% for the full year. It expects non-fuel costs to rise 6% to 7% in 2024. Southwest flight attendants on Tuesday voted to authorize a strike, their union said, after members rejected a tentative agreement last month.

The following is a summary of the Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript: Financial Performance: Southwest Airlines reported a record Q4 2023 with an operating revenue of just over $6.8 billion. The company benefited from about $1.5 billion in incremental year-over-year pre-tax profit from its network optimization efforts and strategic initiatives. Reported annual profits of $996 million, with Q4 net income of $233 million. Q4 unit cost excluding special items was down 16% year-over-year. The Q4 average fuel price was $3 per gallon, reduced guidance for Q1 and full year. The company returned $428 million to shareholders through dividend payments in 2023. Operating revenues of over $1 billion in Q4, an increase from Q4 2019. Full year 2023 operating revenue was a record $26 billion, showing a nearly 10% year-over-year growth. The airline reported a record number of passengers carried in the fourth quarter. Anticipates year-over-year double-digit