Evercore Issues Positive Forecast for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Evercore from $44.00 to $52.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore’s price target suggests a potential downside of 0.99% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on LUV. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC raised Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.80.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $52.52. The stock had a trading volume of 499,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,602,199. The company has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $41.95 and a 200 day moving average of $43.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.