Brokers Set Expectations for Southwest Airlines Co.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn reduced their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note issued on Monday, June 24th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will earn $0.30 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.50. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.98 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.65 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $1.10 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $27.80 target price on the stock. Melius reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.83.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $28.47 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $39.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 374.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.