Wall Street Zen Upgrades Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) to Buy

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.76.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $54.27 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.45 and a 200 day moving average of $35.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $54.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of 64.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 19,729 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 11.0% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,498 shares of the airline’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 1,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 184,045 shares of the airline’s stock worth $5,970,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the period. 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.