Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Raised to $60.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target hoisted by Raymond James Financial from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the airline’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 19.50% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. HSBC upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.68.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $50.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.59. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Airlines

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.