What is Seaport Res Ptn’s Forecast for LUV FY2025 Earnings?

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn increased their FY2025 earnings estimates for Southwest Airlines in a report issued on Wednesday, October 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will earn $1.16 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.06. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.55 per share.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on LUV. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Susquehanna upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. HSBC downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 3.7%

LUV stock opened at $31.07 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $37.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.80, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%.The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.1% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 4,690 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the first quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 16,301 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.77%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.