What is Seaport Res Ptn's Estimate for LUV FY2025 Earnings?

Key Points

• Seaport Res Ptn has revised its FY2025 earnings per share estimate for Southwest Airlines (LUV) down to $1.15, from a previous estimate of $1.24, while the consensus estimate remains higher at $1.55.
• Southwest Airlines recently announced a $2 billion share buyback plan to acquire up to 9.4% of its shares, indicating confidence from the company's leadership in its stock valuation.
• In the latest quarter, Southwest Airlines reported earnings of $0.43 per share, which was $0.08 below analyst estimates, alongside a revenue drop of 2.1% year-over-year.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) - Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lowered their FY2025 EPS estimates for Southwest Airlines in a report released on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will post earnings of $1.15 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $1.24. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines' current full-year earnings is $1.55 per share.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. HSBC cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.13.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.28 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $33.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.97 billion, a PE ratio of 50.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.21. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.95% and a net margin of 1.43%. The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 14,881 shares in the company, valued at $406,102.49. This represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,896,150 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline's stock valued at $95,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,564 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,391,495 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,724,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at about $56,244,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.