Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for LUV Q1 Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Tuesday, December 17th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now forecasts that the airline will post earnings per share of $0.01 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast 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.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on LUV. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.37.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -468.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. This represents a 21.73 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $7,645,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at approximately $609,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,857 shares in the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,963,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,751,000. 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.