Seaport Res Ptn Brokers Lower Earnings Estimates for LUV

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn decreased their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report issued on Monday, March 31st. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now anticipates that the airline will post earnings per share of $0.65 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.85. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.55 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2025 earnings at $1.00 EPS.

LUV has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $31.91 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.62. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $18.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $2,308,146,000 after purchasing an additional 426,878 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.3% during the 4th 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 grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $205,476,000 after acquiring an additional 372,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,391,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.