Brokerages Set Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) PT at $43.72

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.1050.

A number of brokerages recently commented on LUV. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 12.5% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,709 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 3,626 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 6.3% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,590 shares of the airline’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the first quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 15,975 shares of the airline’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 405,815 shares of the airline’s stock worth $15,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 93.7% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 372,178 shares of the airline’s stock worth $13,983,000 after acquiring an additional 180,040 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $38.16. 1,249,775 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,582,016. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $42.47 and its 200 day moving average is $40.34. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $26.50 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The company has a market capitalization of $18.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.45%.

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.