Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Cut to $45.00 by Analysts at Raymond James Financial

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective trimmed by Raymond James Financial from $55.00 to $45.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the airline’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research lowered Southwest Airlines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.94.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.07. The stock had a trading volume of 4,909,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,098,287. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after buying an additional 3,606,255 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Airlines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target slightly to $42 (from $41) and kept a Hold rating, giving modest upside and signaling limited near‑term downside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its PT to $45 from $57.50 but maintained an Outperform rating — a sign that analysts expect recovery but have tempered upside expectations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Raymond James also trimmed its PT to $45 (from $55) while keeping an Outperform rating, mirroring BMO’s view of lower upside but continued confidence in longer‑term recovery. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS trimmed a prior PT (reported March 23) to $56 from $59 but reiterated a Buy — a modest downgrade in expectations rather than a stance shift. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its PT to $30 (from $32) and kept a Sell rating, implying roughly ~21% downside vs. current levels and adding bearish pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America cut its PT to $40 and kept an Underperform rating, reducing expected upside and adding to downward pressure from institutional research. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Industry note — a Reuters/Yahoo piece flags rising costs and potential fare increases as the Iran war pressures carriers (cites a ~$400M overhead impact and margin risk ahead of summer), which could weigh on airline margins, including Southwest’s. Article Title

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.