Zacks Research Has Positive Estimate for LUV FY2024 Earnings

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, December 17th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now anticipates that the airline will post earnings of $0.75 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $0.73. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.78 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.38 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.36 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $0.43 EPS.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.37.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.95. 342,831 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,004,089. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $19.76 billion, a PE ratio of -470.71, a PEG ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,028.57%.

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.