Q2 EPS Forecast for Southwest Airlines Reduced by Analyst

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a report released on Wednesday, May 7th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now anticipates that the airline will earn $0.66 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.80. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines' current full-year earnings is $1.55 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines' Q4 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.73 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.00 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.36 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.89 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.59.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.4%

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,580,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,010,605. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $29.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.05.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.36) EPS. Southwest Airlines's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.71%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

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.