Seaport Res Ptn Brokers Raise Earnings Estimates for LUV

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Seaport Res Ptn raised their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, March 12th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will post earnings of ($0.18) per share for the quarter, up from their previous 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.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LUV. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $31.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 43.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $31.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after purchasing an additional 426,878 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $475,092,000 after purchasing an additional 320,421 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $205,476,000 after purchasing an additional 372,313 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.0% in 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 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.