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

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,280,000 shares, a drop of 15.3% from the February 28th total of 41,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during 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 during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 8.7 %

NYSE:LUV traded down $2.78 on Thursday, reaching $29.08. The stock had a trading volume of 13,089,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,565,363. The company has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.62.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.43.

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.