Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 62,436 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 161% compared to the typical daily volume of 23,898 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.54.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.7 %

LUV opened at $26.47 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.76, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.13. Southwest Airlines has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.04. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline’s stock worth $95,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,564 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $85,262,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline’s stock worth $202,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391,495 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,724,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.