BMO Capital Markets Cuts Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $50.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the airline’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Citigroup cut 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Zacks Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, September 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.01.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $41.78 on Monday. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $29.26 and a 1-year high of $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.68.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during 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%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S. commercial airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LUV. The company was founded in 1967 and began operating scheduled passenger service in 1971, initially serving cities in Texas before expanding across the United States.

Southwest primarily provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and also offers air cargo services. Its operations are centered on a large Boeing 737 fleet, supporting frequent service between major cities and regional airports.