Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Short Interest Up 29.1% in February

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,751,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE LUV traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.40. 10,297,285 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,475,900. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.09 and its 200-day moving average is $31.27. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 target price (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.02.

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.