Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $44.11 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.1050.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LUV. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Seaport Research Partners raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $39.70 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.06. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 46.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after buying an additional 3,753,183 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after buying an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.