Barclays Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $58.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target reduced by Barclays from $65.00 to $58.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the airline’s stock.

LUV has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.05.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $39.19 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.13. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,189,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,784,000 after buying an additional 115,251 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 539,612 shares of the airline’s stock worth $27,747,000 after buying an additional 87,146 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,924,407 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $147,440,000 after acquiring an additional 176,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,416,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Operating under the Southwest Airlines brand, the company provides scheduled air transportation for domestic and international travelers and also offers air cargo services.

Southwest was founded in 1967 and began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The airline expanded its network across the United States and now serves numerous destinations in the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and other nearby international markets.