Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on LUV. Barclays upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $39.64 on Friday. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $55.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.39 and its 200 day moving average is $43.59. The company has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,189,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,784,000 after buying an additional 115,251 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 19.3% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 539,612 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $27,747,000 after buying an additional 87,146 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 575,639 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $23,774,000 after buying an additional 31,128 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 4.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,924,407 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $147,440,000 after buying an additional 176,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.