Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Lowered to $45.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $57.50 to $45.00 in a report released on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the airline’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.22% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.94.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.3%

LUV traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.06. 4,730,546 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,096,475. The company has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of 45.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.36. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. 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 analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after buying an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after buying an additional 3,606,255 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.