American low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) topped the chart of canceled flights on Monday, January 30, owing to the winter storm, a Reuters report stated. As per the flight tracking service provider, FlightAware, Southwest canceled 489 flights yesterday (out of a total of 1,861 canceled flights) and delayed 1,018 flights.
Similarly, LUV has so far canceled a total of 319 flights on January 31 and delayed another 42 (as of 1.00 a.m. EST). Southwest is already facing government criticism for canceling 16,700 flights during the holiday season due to bad weather and outdated technology.
Interestingly, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is investigating Southwest Airlines’ operational mishaps between December 21 and 29, which led to flight cancelations and passenger inconvenience. Recently, LUV posted mixed Q4FY22 results, with earnings missing and revenues beating expectations.
To address the cancellations, Southwest and other American carriers have issued winter waivers that let passengers change their itinerary without extra charges subject to certain conditions.
Is Southwest Airlines a Good Stock to Buy?
On TipRanks, LUV stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on nine Buys and four Hold ratings. The average Southwest Airlines price target of $45.69 implies 28.8% upside potential to current levels. Meanwhile, the stock has lost 20.4% over the past year.