Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.51. 6,641,462 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,811,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.40. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a PE ratio of -451.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,028.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.