Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $44.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the airline’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.98% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on LUV. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.03.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV traded up $0.90 during trading on Monday, reaching $39.65. 1,869,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,420,346. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.74.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $61,140,000 after buying an additional 214,092 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,010,000. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,447,000 after acquiring an additional 29,665 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,406,652 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,632,000 after acquiring an additional 325,030 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted 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 worth $23,587,000 after acquiring an additional 270,589 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.