M&T Bank Corp Purchases 1,651 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,605 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $3,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 18,306 shares of the airline’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,918 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 57,976 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -471.57, a PEG ratio of 7.66 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.71 and its 200 day moving average is $29.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,028.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LUV. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.37.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal bought 643,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.