Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $60.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the airline’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 39.62% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on LUV. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.21.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.1%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $42.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $55.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.59.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.