Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

17 Apr 2026, 13:37 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $40.63, but opened at $43.34. Southwest Airlines shares last traded at $44.39, with a volume of 1,569,519 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price 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, March 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.72.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LUV

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 6.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $21.28 billion, a PE ratio of 51.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $44.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.86. 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 (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. Southwest Airlines’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock worth $389,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,235 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock worth $257,423,000 after purchasing an additional 244,891 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines

(Get Free Report)

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.