Q2 2024 EPS Estimates for Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Boosted by Seaport Res Ptn

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Wednesday, July 17th. 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 prior estimate of $0.37. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.74 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ FY2024 earnings at $1.11 EPS.

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

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on LUV. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.04.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $27.18 on Friday. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $37.48. 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 market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.86 and a 200-day moving average of $29.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LUV. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 374.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

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.