Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Cut to $47.00 by Analysts at TD Cowen

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target reduced by equities research analysts at TD Cowen from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the airline’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.42% from the stock’s current price.

LUV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.95.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.18. 877,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,455,841. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $29.26 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.70.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,015 shares of the airline’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 109.4% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 871 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,738 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,131 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S. commercial airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LUV. The company was founded in 1967 and began operating scheduled passenger service in 1971, initially serving cities in Texas before expanding across the United States.

Southwest primarily provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and also offers air cargo services. Its operations are centered on a large Boeing 737 fleet, supporting frequent service between major cities and regional airports.