Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $45.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target cut by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $57.50 to $45.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the airline’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.22% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on LUV. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.94.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.06. 4,730,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,096,475. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.36. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 214,092 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,010,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,447,000 after purchasing an additional 29,665 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $31,968,000. 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.