Q3 EPS Forecast for Southwest Airlines Lifted by Analyst

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Zacks Research raised their Q3 2027 earnings per share estimates for Southwest Airlines in a research report issued on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the airline will post earnings of $0.93 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.86. Zacks Research has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.55 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2027 earnings at $1.97 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $5.10 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on LUV. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.92.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $51.44 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $54.70. The stock has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.24, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.11.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 19,729 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,498 shares of the airline’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 184,045 shares of the airline’s stock worth $5,970,000 after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.