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

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 30,620 call options on the company. This is an increase of 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,925 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.52.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $34.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.16 and its 200-day moving average is $31.37.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its 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 return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 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.