Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.29.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $54.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.61, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.72. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $54.70.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after buying an additional 3,753,183 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $389,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459,235 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $349,182,000 after acquiring an additional 98,290 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock worth $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.