UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target raised by investment analysts at UBS Group from $49.00 to $53.00 in a report released on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the airline’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 29.22% from the stock’s current price.

LUV has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Zacks Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.51.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $41.02 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.66. The stock has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.13. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $2,509,179,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,538,382,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at $234,872,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,038,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.