Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $73.00 price objective on the airline’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 42.96% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on LUV. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.14.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $51.06 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.56. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $54.70. The company has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after acquiring an additional 9,716,160 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the 4th 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, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $143,450,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.