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Southwest Airlines (LUV) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts

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The latest trading session saw Southwest Airlines (LUV - Free Report) ending at $29.21, denoting a +0.21% adjustment from its last day's close. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.14% gain on the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.3%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.16%.

The the stock of airline has risen by 17.45% in the past month, leading the Transportation sector's gain of 8.25% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.89%.

The upcoming earnings release of Southwest Airlines will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on January 25, 2024. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.14, up 136.84% from the prior-year quarter. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $6.75 billion, indicating a 9.34% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $1.39 per share and revenue of $25.99 billion, which would represent changes of +19.83% and +9.13%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Southwest Airlines should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.2% lower. Southwest Airlines presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Southwest Airlines's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 21.02. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 7.88 for its industry.

Also, we should mention that LUV has a PEG ratio of 1.25. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Transportation - Airline was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.36 at yesterday's closing price.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 198, placing it within the bottom 22% of over 250 industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.


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