Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Given New $53.00 Price Target at TD Cowen

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $47.00 to $53.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the airline’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price suggests a potential upside of 4.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on LUV. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.51.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.78. The stock had a trading volume of 489,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,540,624. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $28.98 and a 1-year high of $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $24.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.47.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $172,038,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $143,450,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.