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

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 7.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,920,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $32.37. 6,561,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,949,955. The stock has a market cap of $19.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.96, a PEG 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.12 and its 200-day moving average is $31.24. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.