Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $61.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective boosted by analysts at UBS Group from $53.00 to $61.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the airline’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.59% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on LUV. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.95.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $49.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.82. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $55.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth about $134,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 25.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,506 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.9% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 89,224 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 34.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the airline’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 115,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.