Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 on July 2nd

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the airline on Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th.

Southwest Airlines has increased its dividend by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years. Southwest Airlines has a dividend payout ratio of 28.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Southwest Airlines to earn $5.00 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 14.4%.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.2%

LUV stock opened at $41.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.98. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Argus dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.21.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.