Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.18

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.18 per share by the airline on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%.

Southwest Airlines has a payout ratio of 30.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Southwest Airlines to earn $2.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.1%.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV traded up $0.37 on Wednesday, hitting $31.16. 1,330,241 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,344,722. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.50. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $18.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.08.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.