Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 23,905 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 75% compared to the average volume of 13,683 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.01.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 107,272 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 14,634 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 22.6% in the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 25,990 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 4,788 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 19.2% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 221,388 shares of the airline’s stock worth $11,384,000 after buying an additional 35,732 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 1,223.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 334,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $17,191,000 after buying an additional 309,076 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,695,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:LUV opened at $37.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.85. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The company’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

About Southwest Airlines

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.