Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Expected to Earn Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.55 Per Share

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn lifted their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 15th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now anticipates that the airline will post earnings of $0.55 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.40. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.52 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.70 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.85 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.85 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.75 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.38) earnings per share.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $28.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. StockNews.com cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $32.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.82.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $28.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.46. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $39.53. The stock has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.15.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.0% during the first 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 period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.6% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,639 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 50,213 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,926 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 8,166 shares of the airline’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

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.