Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for LUV Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Thursday, February 13th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now expects that the airline will post earnings of $0.80 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.81. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.59 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q1 2026 earnings at $0.29 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.81 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.95 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $30.21 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $32.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 48,829 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,336,000. Utah Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 32,200 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 278.3% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 29,130 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 21,430 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,897,564 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $164,656,000 after purchasing an additional 400,886 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.