Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives $45.76 Average PT from Brokerages

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.2895.

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Southwest Airlines

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,148 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,726 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,268 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the airline’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $54.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $54.70. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.72.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. 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%.

About Southwest Airlines

(Get Free Report)

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.

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