Q1 2024 Earnings Forecast for Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Issued By Seaport Res Ptn

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Seaport Res Ptn raised their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for Southwest Airlines in a research note issued to investors on Monday, April 8th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will earn ($0.30) per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($0.50). The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines' current full-year earnings is $1.60 per share.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LUV. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.82.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,401,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,385,319. The company's 50 day moving average is $31.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.42. The stock has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a PE ratio of 38.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.75 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 9.40%. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.38) EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. &PARTNERS acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at $274,000. Pflug Koory LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.8% in the first quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 17,456 shares of the airline's stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at $1,223,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,990 shares of the airline's stock valued at $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.0% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 19,494 shares of the airline's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

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.