Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $44.21 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-two research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.2050.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. HSBC raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock worth $61,140,000 after buying an additional 214,092 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,968,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,189,000. Finally, Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,403,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.7%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $45.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $55.11.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 46.45%.

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.