Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.25.

LUV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.7%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $39.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.15 and a 200-day moving average of $39.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $61,140,000 after purchasing an additional 214,092 shares during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at $2,010,000. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $18,447,000 after purchasing an additional 29,665 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 59.3% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 727,090 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $23,587,000 after purchasing an additional 270,589 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.