Seaport Res Ptn Has Pessimistic Outlook of LUV Q1 Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lowered their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Southwest Airlines in a report released on Tuesday, January 21st. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will post earnings per share of ($0.20) for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of ($0.15). The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.84 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2025 earnings at $0.60 EPS.

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on LUV. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.31.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $32.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a PE ratio of -458.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after buying an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $100,080,000 after purchasing an additional 46,110 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock worth $73,636,000 after buying an additional 133,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,028.57%.

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.