Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the airline’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on LUV. HSBC upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $49.95. 319,213 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,491,923. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines’s 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third 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 holdings in 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 valued at $155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,606,255 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.