Zacks Research Has Positive Forecast for LUV Q3 Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the airline will earn $0.93 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.86. Zacks Research currently 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.

LUV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $43.00 to $57.50 in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.92.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $51.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $54.70. The stock has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a PE ratio of 61.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.51 and a 200-day moving average of $36.11.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 85.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $389,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459,235 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock worth $349,182,000 after purchasing an additional 98,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.