Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Tuesday, June 13th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now forecasts that the airline will earn $1.07 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $2.62 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ FY2024 earnings at $3.33 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $4.01 EPS.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The airline reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.73 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.32) earnings per share.
LUV has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays lowered Southwest Airlines from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.71.
Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.8 %
LUV opened at $34.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $28.40 and a twelve month high of $41.76.
Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 21st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 20th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 72.00%.
Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines
In other news, EVP Ryan C. Green sold 4,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.94, for a total transaction of $147,783.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,248.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,067 shares of the airline’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 15,645 shares of the airline’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 49,913 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,997 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,639 shares of the airline’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.71% of the company’s stock.
Southwest Airlines Company Profile
Southwest Airlines Co engages in the operation and management of a passenger airline. The firm also offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. It operates in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.
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