Zacks Research Comments on Southwest Airlines Co.’s Q2 2025 Earnings (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Tuesday, October 15th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now forecasts that the airline will post earnings per share of $0.65 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.59. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.54 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q2 2026 earnings at $0.73 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas raised Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.33.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $30.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a PE ratio of 48.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.63 and a 200-day moving average of $28.01. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $35.18.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,569,773 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,972,362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,148,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,422,187 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,792,914,000 after purchasing an additional 7,946,199 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,828,166 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $166,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,496 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,551,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 629.5% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,590,298 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,305 shares during the last quarter. 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.