Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts' consensus is "Hold": 20 brokerages cover Southwest (4 sell, 8 hold, 8 buy) with an average 1‑year target price of $43.72.
• Recent analyst moves show mixed/softening sentiment — Citigroup and Wells Fargo cut targets to about $44 while UBS trimmed its target but kept a buy rating and Wall Street Zen downgraded to hold.
• Recent results/guidance: Q‑quarter EPS was $0.58 (beat), revenue slightly missed, and management set FY2026 guidance around $4.00 EPS (Q1 ~ $0.45); the stock trades near $41.81 with a P/E ~49.8 and a 1.7% dividend yield.

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.7222.

Several brokerages have issued reports on LUV. Citigroup lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Corsicana & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $41.81 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $43.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.19. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.