What is Seaport Res Ptn’s Estimate for LUV FY2024 Earnings?

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) – Stock analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Southwest Airlines in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 21st. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the airline will post earnings per share of $0.86 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $0.85. The consensus estimate for Southwest Airlines’ current full-year earnings is $0.83 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Southwest Airlines’ Q2 2025 earnings at $0.91 EPS and Q3 2025 earnings at $0.34 EPS.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.31.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $31.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of -455.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.23. Southwest Airlines has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 60.6% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the third quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.