UBS Group Increases Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $53.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target raised by equities researchers at UBS Group from $49.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the airline’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 25.95% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on LUV. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.96.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $42.08. 768,816 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,972,438. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $20.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12. 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’s 50-day moving average is $39.52 and its 200-day moving average is $41.28.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.