Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the airline’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target suggests a potential downside of 30.68% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Argus lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.43.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE LUV traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,180,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,546,798. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.93 and its 200 day moving average is $43.47. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 11,414 shares of the airline’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at about $134,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 25.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,506 shares of the airline’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 3,346 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.9% in the first quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 89,224 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,245 shares of the airline’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares during the period. 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.