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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price 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 given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.54.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $33.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 46.70, a PEG 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.60. Southwest Airlines has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline’s stock worth $95,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,641,564 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $85,262,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $57,724,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.