Short Interest in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Declines By 22.6%

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) saw a significant drop in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 23,812,123 shares, a drop of 22.6% from the January 29th total of 30,747,629 shares. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 10,863,950 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 10,863,950 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $48.59 on Monday. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.93.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 7,275 shares of the airline’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 84,394 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after purchasing an additional 17,320 shares during the last quarter. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 60,423 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,502 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.