Seaport Res Ptn Has Positive Outlook for LUV Q1 Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Wednesday, March 12th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now forecasts that the airline will earn ($0.18) per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of ($0.25). The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.55 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q2 2025 earnings at $0.85 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.45 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.80 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.75 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $5.50 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price target (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $31.74 on Friday. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.22.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,108,750,000 after buying an additional 2,896,150 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline’s stock worth $475,092,000 after buying an additional 320,421 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline’s stock worth $205,476,000 after buying an additional 372,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $202,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.