Southwest Airlines (LUV) Competitors

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Is DAL or LUV a better dividend stock?

Delta Air Lines pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Southwest Airlines pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Delta Air Lines pays out 10.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Southwest Airlines pays out 84.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Delta Air Lines has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in DAL or LUV?

69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Delta Air Lines shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts recommend DAL or LUV?

Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus target price of $61.67, suggesting a potential upside of 25.42%. Southwest Airlines has a consensus target price of $31.88, suggesting a potential downside of 1.74%. Given Delta Air Lines' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Delta Air Lines is more favorable than Southwest Airlines.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Delta Air Lines	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Southwest Airlines	5 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more volatility & risk, DAL or LUV?

Delta Air Lines has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southwest Airlines has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is DAL or LUV more profitable?

Delta Air Lines has a net margin of 5.91% compared to Southwest Airlines' net margin of 1.98%. Delta Air Lines' return on equity of 28.18% beat Southwest Airlines' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Delta Air Lines	5.91%	28.18%	5.28%
Southwest Airlines	1.98%	7.27%	2.15%

Which has better earnings and valuation, DAL or LUV?

Delta Air Lines has higher revenue and earnings than Southwest Airlines. Delta Air Lines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southwest Airlines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Delta Air Lines	$61.64B	0.52	$3.46B	$5.64	8.72
Southwest Airlines	$27.48B	0.67	$465M	$0.85	38.16

Does the media refer more to DAL or LUV?

In the previous week, Delta Air Lines had 14 more articles in the media than Southwest Airlines. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Delta Air Lines and 20 mentions for Southwest Airlines. Delta Air Lines' average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat Southwest Airlines' score of 0.58 indicating that Delta Air Lines is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Delta Air Lines	17 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Southwest Airlines	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats Southwest Airlines on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.