Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.04% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.45.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $42.44 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $41.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,341 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 2,632 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 718,567 shares of the airline’s stock worth $36,949,000 after acquiring an additional 77,989 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 218.8% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 93,837 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,825,000 after buying an additional 64,402 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 75.1% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 814,820 shares of the airline’s stock worth $41,898,000 after purchasing an additional 349,394 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 8.7% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 22,992 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S. commercial airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LUV. The company was founded in 1967 and began operating scheduled passenger service in 1971, initially serving cities in Texas before expanding across the United States.

Southwest primarily provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and also offers air cargo services. Its operations are centered on a large Boeing 737 fleet, supporting frequent service between major cities and regional airports.