Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for LUV Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, December 17th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now anticipates that the airline will earn $0.01 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.03. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.78 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q2 2025 earnings at $0.81 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.84 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.30 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.22 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LUV. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI raised Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.37.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.5 %

LUV stock opened at $33.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.44. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -475.43, a PEG ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.