Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.18

Key Points

• Southwest declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, payable January 7 to shareholders of record December 17. That equals $0.72 annually and a 1.6% yield.
• The dividend appears well covered: Southwest’s payout ratio is 28.8%, and analysts expect next year’s earnings to support an estimated payout ratio of 15.9%.
• Southwest’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.66 versus a $0.57 consensus and revenue of $8.42 billion versus $8.25 billion expected.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share by the airline on Thursday, January 7th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 17th.

Southwest Airlines has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years. Southwest Airlines has a payout ratio of 28.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Southwest Airlines to earn $4.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.9%.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $45.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $31.15 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The company has a market cap of $22.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.61.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.25 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline's stock worth $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 115,251 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 19.3% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 539,612 shares of the airline's stock valued at $27,747,000 after purchasing an additional 87,146 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 218.8% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 93,837 shares of the airline's stock valued at $4,825,000 after purchasing an additional 64,402 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $17,913,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,924,407 shares of the airline's stock valued at $147,440,000 after purchasing an additional 176,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co. is a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States and to destinations in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The company also offers air cargo services and operates the Rapid Rewards loyalty program. Founded in 1967 and beginning flight operations in 1971, Southwest grew from a Texas-based carrier into a major U.S. airline. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan, who assumed the role in 2022.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.