Seaport Res Ptn Issues Negative Outlook for LUV Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q3 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report issued on Thursday, April 24th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now anticipates that the airline will post earnings per share of $0.23 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.45. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines' current full-year earnings is $1.55 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines' Q4 2025 earnings at $0.65 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.00 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.36) EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.43.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of LUV stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.65. 5,637,989 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,073,451. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $29.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 13,000 shares of company stock worth $364,790. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,308,146,000 after purchasing an additional 426,878 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after buying an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline's stock valued at $475,092,000 after buying an additional 320,421 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline's stock valued at $205,476,000 after buying an additional 372,313 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline's stock valued at $202,219,000 after buying an additional 2,391,495 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.