Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LUV. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $52.00 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.19. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $218,175,000 after buying an additional 577,326 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $257,423,000 after buying an additional 244,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $216,472,000 after buying an additional 117,833 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.