Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 30,620 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 71% compared to the typical volume of 17,925 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $34.84 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.39, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.