Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Short Interest Down 6.6% in February

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,550,000 shares, a decrease of 6.6% from the January 31st total of 10,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,530,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $33.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.75. Southwest Airlines has a 1-year low of $30.20 and a 1-year high of $50.10. The stock has a market cap of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 41.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.35). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.26% and a return on equity of 6.71%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.14 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 22.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 7th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Roundview Capital LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 13,336 shares of the airline’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,335 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $403,000. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 6,335 shares of the airline’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 12,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 40,189 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,841,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LUV. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $48.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Melius downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Susquehanna downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.53.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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Southwest Airlines Co engages in the operation and management of a passenger airline. The firm also offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. It operates in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.