Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for Southwest Airlines Co. Boosted by Analyst (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Zacks Research boosted their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a report released on Tuesday, October 15th. Zacks Research analyst S. Goswami now expects that the airline will post earnings of ($0.04) per share for the quarter, up from their prior 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.

LUV has been the subject of several other research reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 price target (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.33.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $30.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 49.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $35.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.03.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 179.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 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.