FY2024 EPS Estimates for LUV Increased by Seaport Res Ptn

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Southwest Airlines in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will earn $0.85 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $0.81. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.76 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.45 EPS.

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

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on LUV. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.37.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $33.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.67 and its 200 day moving average is $29.18. The stock has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -471.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Rakesh Gangwal bought 643,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,028.57%.

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.