Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Southwest Airlines Co.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Seaport Res Ptn cut their Q2 2024 EPS estimates for Southwest Airlines in a research note issued to investors on Monday, June 24th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will post earnings of $0.50 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.55. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $1.03 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ FY2026 earnings at $2.75 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Melius restated a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.83.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $28.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.22, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $39.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.42.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The business had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,475,988 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,544,387,000 after buying an additional 9,444,279 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,569,773 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,972,362,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148,435 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 6,210,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $179,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,468 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $29,789,000. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $24,404,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

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.