Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Rating Increased to Neutral at Rothschild & Co Redburn

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $40.00 price target on the airline’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s target price indicates a potential downside of 0.80% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LUV. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.30.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $40.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.81.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,509,179,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,538,382,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth $234,872,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock worth $216,472,000 after acquiring an additional 117,833 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Operating under the Southwest Airlines brand, the company provides scheduled air transportation for domestic and international travelers and also offers air cargo services.

Southwest was founded in 1967 and began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The airline expanded its network across the United States and now serves numerous destinations in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and other nearby international markets.