Analyzing Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and Flughafen Wien (OTCMKTS:VIAAY)

Flughafen Wien (OTCMKTS:VIAAY) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Flughafen Wien and Southwest Airlines”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flughafen Wien	$1.14 billion	3.75	$234.01 million	$0.75	16.99
Southwest Airlines	$27.48 billion	0.77	$465.00 million	$0.65	63.17

Southwest Airlines has higher revenue and earnings than Flughafen Wien. Flughafen Wien is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southwest Airlines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Flughafen Wien and Southwest Airlines, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flughafen Wien	0	0	0	0	0.00
Southwest Airlines	4	12	5	0	2.05

Southwest Airlines has a consensus price target of $39.44, suggesting a potential downside of 3.94%. Given Southwest Airlines’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Southwest Airlines is more favorable than Flughafen Wien.

Dividends

Flughafen Wien pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Southwest Airlines pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Flughafen Wien pays out 40.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southwest Airlines pays out 110.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Flughafen Wien is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Flughafen Wien and Southwest Airlines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flughafen Wien	20.48%	13.45%	9.37%
Southwest Airlines	1.38%	6.39%	1.83%

Volatility and Risk

Flughafen Wien has a beta of -0.06, indicating that its stock price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southwest Airlines has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Southwest Airlines beats Flughafen Wien on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flughafen Wien

Flughafen Wien Aktiengesellschaft, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction and operation of civil airports and related facilities in Austria. The company operates through five segments: Airport, Handling & Security Services, Retail & Properties, Malta, and Other. It manages the Vienna airport. The company's Airport segment operates and maintains aircraft movement areas and terminals, as well as equipment and facilities for passenger and baggage handling, as well as security controls for passengers. This segment also offers various services to support airport operations, deals with emergencies and disruptions, and ensures security. Its Handling & Security services segment provides various services for the handling of aircraft and passengers on scheduled and charter flights, as well as for the handling of general aviation aircraft and passengers. This segment also operates the general aviation center; and provides security controls for passengers and hand luggage. The company's Retail & Properties segment offers services that support airport operations, including shopping, food and beverages, VIP, lounges, and parking, as well as develops and markets properties. This segment offers services to passengers, users of parking facilities, hotel guests, conference participants, employees at the site, and meeters and greeters. Its Malta segment operates Malta airport; and provides aviation and parking services, as well as rents retail and office space. The Other segment offers technical and repair, energy supply and waste disposal, telecommunication and information technology, electromechanical and building, construction management, and consulting services, as well as construction and maintenance services for infrastructure facilities. The company is headquartered in Schwechat, Austria.

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. It also provides inflight entertainment and connectivity services on Wi-Fi enabled aircraft; and Rapid Rewards loyalty program that enables program members to earn points for dollars spent on Southwest base fares. In addition, the company offers a suite of digital platforms to support customers’ travel needs, including websites and apps; and SWABIZ, an online booking tool. Further, it provides ancillary services, such as Southwest’s EarlyBird Check-In, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. Southwest Airlines Co. was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.