Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the airline’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.03% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LUV. Evercore upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.93.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $50.77. 958,816 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,511,386. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.59. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $28.98 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The company has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm’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. Analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 19,729 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 47.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline’s stock worth $9,979,000 after acquiring an additional 98,986 shares during the last quarter. 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.