Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 41,650,000 shares, an increase of 29.1% from the February 13th total of 32,250,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 7.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE LUV traded up $0.64 on Monday, hitting $32.37. 6,561,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,949,955. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.