Investors 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. Traders bought 30,620 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 71% compared to the typical volume of 17,925 call options.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of LUV stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $33.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,484,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,478,489. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.31.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective 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. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

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.