Q3 EPS Estimate for Southwest Airlines Boosted by Analyst

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, October 15th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now forecasts that the airline will post earnings of ($0.04) per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of ($0.12). The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.54 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.17 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $0.34 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.01 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.06 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.24 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $0.97 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.52 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.16 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $1.94 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.33.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $30.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 231.40, a P/E/G ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.17. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $35.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.05.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 553.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at $108,117,203.78. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,569,773 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,972,362,000 after buying an additional 2,148,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,422,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,792,914,000 after purchasing an additional 7,946,199 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,828,166 shares of the airline’s stock worth $166,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,496 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,551,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 629.5% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,590,298 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372,305 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.