Q2 EPS Forecast for Southwest Airlines Lowered by Analyst

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report issued on Thursday, February 13th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now expects that the airline will earn $0.80 per share 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.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 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%.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE LUV traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $30.55. 7,795,727 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,342,484. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.14. 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 50 day moving average price of $32.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at $313,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,373 shares of the airline's stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,453 shares of the airline's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,759 shares of the airline's stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

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.