Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $44.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.67% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LUV. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.36.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.9%

LUV stock opened at $52.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.13. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,968,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $2,189,000. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,403,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth about $1,479,000. 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.