Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Lowered to $40.00 at Bank of America

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Bank of America from $42.00 to $40.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the airline’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.09% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.94.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE LUV traded up $0.49 on Wednesday, hitting $38.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,730,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,096,475. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.80 and its 200 day moving average is $39.36. The firm has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a PE ratio of 45.36, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 12.6% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $61,140,000 after acquiring an additional 214,092 shares during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth about $2,010,000. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $18,447,000 after acquiring an additional 29,665 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after buying an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $31,968,000. 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.