Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Stock Price

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Citigroup from $54.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the airline’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.85% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.42.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $39.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.41 and a 200-day moving average of $38.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock worth $389,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459,235 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after acquiring an additional 9,716,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $218,175,000 after acquiring an additional 577,326 shares in 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.