Zacks Research Has Bearish Forecast for LUV Q2 Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Thursday, February 13th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now expects that the airline will post earnings per share of $0.80 for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.81. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.59 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.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target 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. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $30.00 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.71. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced 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 firm 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 dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.