Southwest Airlines Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 30,620 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 71% compared to the average daily volume of 17,925 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,751,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $34.16 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.33. The company has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 47.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.