TD Cowen Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $55.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price cut by TD Cowen from $66.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the airline’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on LUV. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $57.50 in a report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.71.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $41.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.62.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the airline’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,148 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,063 shares of the airline’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,437 shares of the airline’s stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,726 shares of the airline’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently 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.