Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Citigroup from $44.00 to $55.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.67% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Zacks Research cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. HSBC raised Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.36.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $52.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $28.98 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during 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 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.