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

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.43.

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,968,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,189,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,403,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,479,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $50.21 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.45%.

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.