Southwest Airlines (LUV) Competitors

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) are both transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and media sentiment.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in AAL or LUV?

52.4% of American Airlines Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of American Airlines Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Southwest Airlines shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to AAL or LUV?

In the previous week, Southwest Airlines had 2 more articles in the media than American Airlines Group. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for Southwest Airlines and 20 mentions for American Airlines Group. American Airlines Group's average media sentiment score of 0.68 beat Southwest Airlines' score of 0.30 indicating that American Airlines Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Airlines Group	14 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Southwest Airlines	1 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate AAL or LUV?

American Airlines Group presently has a consensus target price of $15.84, indicating a potential upside of 36.69%. Southwest Airlines has a consensus target price of $32.31, indicating a potential downside of 4.43%. Given American Airlines Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe American Airlines Group is more favorable than Southwest Airlines.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Airlines Group	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Southwest Airlines	5 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, AAL or LUV?

American Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than Southwest Airlines. American Airlines Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southwest Airlines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Airlines Group	$54.21B	0.14	$846M	$0.90	12.88
Southwest Airlines	$27.48B	0.70	$465M	$0.85	39.78

Is AAL or LUV more profitable?

Southwest Airlines has a net margin of 1.98% compared to American Airlines Group's net margin of 1.26%. Southwest Airlines' return on equity of 7.27% beat American Airlines Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Airlines Group	1.26%	-26.59%	1.91%
Southwest Airlines	1.98%	7.27%	2.15%

Which has more volatility & risk, AAL or LUV?

American Airlines Group has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southwest Airlines has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

American Airlines Group beats Southwest Airlines on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.