Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $45.76 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.2895.

LUV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Corsicana & Co. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.7%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $53.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.85. The stock has a market cap of $26.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.52, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $54.70.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

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.