Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Shares Up 5.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)’s stock price shot up 5.1% on Tuesday after Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $44.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Southwest Airlines traded as high as $48.21 and last traded at $48.4150. 1,232,147 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 8,596,937 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.08.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Nine equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 47.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $9,979,000 after acquiring an additional 98,986 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 4.8%

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 firm has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.38.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

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.