Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $50.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 2.46% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.66.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of LUV opened at $51.26 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a PE ratio of 33.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $31,968,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $2,189,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,403,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $1,479,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines

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.