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

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) saw a large 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. Approximately 7.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,920,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.8 %

LUV traded up $0.27 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.40. The company had a trading volume of 10,297,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,475,900. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.27. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at about $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at about $1,751,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.02.

About Southwest Airlines

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.