Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 on January 16th

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the airline on Friday, January 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th.

Southwest Airlines has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. Southwest Airlines has a payout ratio of 28.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Southwest Airlines to earn $2.36 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 30.5%.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $41.55 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $21.49 billion, a PE ratio of 63.93, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.17. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $43.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%.The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, December 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 target price (up from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.94.

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.