Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $52.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Evercore from $44.00 to $52.00 in a report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. Evercore’s price target points to a potential downside of 0.99% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.80.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of LUV traded up $1.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $52.52. 499,236 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,602,199. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $41.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.03. 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 results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $134,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 25.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,506 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,346 shares in the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.9% during the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 89,224 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.5% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 115,251 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.