Research Analysts Offer Predictions for LUV Q2 Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for Southwest Airlines in a research report issued on Thursday, February 13th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now anticipates that the airline will post earnings per share of $0.80 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.81. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines' current full-year earnings is $1.55 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.

LUV has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE LUV traded down $0.81 during trading on Monday, hitting $29.80. The stock had a trading volume of 10,251,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,397,514. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.74.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.