Southwest Airlines (LUV) Stock Moves -0.84%: What You Should Know

Southwest Airlines (LUV) closed at $28.28 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.84% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 1.64% loss on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.82%.

Heading into today, shares of the airline had lost 9.66% over the past month, lagging the Transportation sector's loss of 2.87% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.89% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Southwest Airlines as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 26, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.52, up 4% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.66 billion, up 7.09% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $26.31 billion, which would represent changes of +73.28% and +10.48%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southwest Airlines should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 4.21% lower. Southwest Airlines is currently a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Looking at its valuation, Southwest Airlines is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 14.18. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 7.76, so we one might conclude that Southwest Airlines is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that LUV has a PEG ratio of 0.58. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Transportation - Airline was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.39 at yesterday's closing price.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 162, which puts it in the bottom 36% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow LUV in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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