Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the airline’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 28.03% from the company’s previous close.

LUV has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.93.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV traded up $0.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $50.77. 958,816 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,511,386. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $24.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock worth $257,423,000 after acquiring an additional 244,891 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $216,472,000 after purchasing an additional 117,833 shares in 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.