BMO Capital Markets Lowers Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target to $45.00

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $57.50 to $45.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the airline’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 17.67% from the company’s current price.

LUV has been the topic of several other reports. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.94.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE LUV opened at $38.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.36. 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 one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm 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%.The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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. Research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $61,140,000 after buying an additional 214,092 shares during the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $2,010,000. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,447,000 after acquiring an additional 29,665 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock worth $155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,968,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Southwest Airlines

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Airlines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies nudged its price target up to $42 from $41 and kept a “hold” rating, signaling modest support for the shares. Jefferies raises PT to $42
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets and Raymond James each lowered their PTs to $45 but kept “outperform” ratings — that keeps institutional sentiment constructive and implies an analyst-implied upside (~18% at recent prices). BMO lowers PT to $45, keeps outperform Raymond James lowers PT to $45, keeps outperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America research notes that higher jet fuel is pressuring airline margins but says strong travel demand and fare increases could offset some of the pain — this is a mixed macro signal that can cap rallies while supporting revenue resilience. High Fuel Costs Weigh on Airlines (BofA)
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its PT to $30 and maintained a “sell” rating — a substantive negative as it implies meaningful downside and could pressure sentiment among institutional holders. Goldman Sachs lowers PT to $30, keeps sell
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America Securities trimmed its PT to $40 and kept an “underperform” rating, another bearish signal that increases near-term selling pressure. BofA lowers PT to $40, keeps underperform
• Negative Sentiment: UBS trimmed its PT to $56 from $59 (reiterating buy), a mild negative that reflects higher jet-fuel assumptions and slightly reduced upside. UBS cuts PT to $56
• Negative Sentiment: A broader industry report highlights the Iran war and related costs are pushing airlines toward higher fares and slimmer margins — a macro headwind that could pressure Southwest’s profits and sentiment into the summer. Airlines face price hikes as Iran war pressures business

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.