UBS Group Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $59.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective lowered by UBS Group to $59.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on LUV. Barclays upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $34.00 to $56.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.29.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of LUV opened at $40.05 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.85. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $55.11.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.