Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LUV. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.76.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.4%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $54.27 on Friday. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $54.70. The company has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.73. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,320,000. Advisory Alpha LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,802 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 72,448 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.