Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Short Interest Down 15.3% in March

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in 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 short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:LUV traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $31.62. 5,400,000 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,535,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.32 and a 200 day moving average of $31.62.

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, 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 589 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is 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.