Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $50.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $50.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the airline’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.01.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of LUV opened at $42.26 on Monday. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $20.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $2,509,179,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $1,538,382,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $234,872,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $172,038,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Operating under the Southwest Airlines brand, the company provides scheduled air transportation for domestic and international travelers and also offers air cargo services.

Southwest was founded in 1967 and began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The airline expanded its network across the United States and now serves numerous destinations in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and other nearby international markets.