Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Shares Up 5.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) shares shot up 5.1% during trading on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $44.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Southwest Airlines traded as high as $48.21 and last traded at $48.4150. 1,232,147 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 8,596,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.08.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Susquehanna cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $31,968,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $2,189,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $1,403,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,479,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 4.8%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s revenue 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. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 46.45%.

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.