Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.51.

A number of research firms have issued reports on LUV. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $2,509,179,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,538,382,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $234,872,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock worth $216,472,000 after acquiring an additional 117,833 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $41.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.66. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Operating under the Southwest Airlines brand, the company provides scheduled air transportation for domestic and international travelers and also offers air cargo services.

Southwest was founded in 1967 and began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The airline expanded its network across the United States and now serves numerous destinations in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and other nearby international markets.