Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Short Interest Update

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the target of 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. Approximately 7.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lifted 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. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.02.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $32.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 45.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. 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 has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.08 and a 200-day moving average of $31.29.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related 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 acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LUV. CWC Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 55,458 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after acquiring an additional 10,123 shares during the period. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $638,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $131,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.