Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.7632.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LUV. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $52.55 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $52.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.56, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. 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, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $228,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,148 shares of the airline’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Ballast Rock Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $525,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.