BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective raised by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $45.00 to $58.50 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the airline’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.86% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Evercore lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. HSBC upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Nine research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.43.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.0%

LUV stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,180,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,546,798. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $55.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.93 and a 200-day moving average of $43.47. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’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. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other 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.