M&T Bank Corp Sells 70,030 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Southwest Airlines by 82.7% in the 4th quarter, selling 70,030 shares and leaving 14,612 shares worth $604,000.
• Analysts are mixed: several firms trimmed price targets (Citigroup to $44, Argus to $45, BMO to $45) while Morgan Stanley raised its target to $55, leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target of $44.11.
• Southwest reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter (matching estimates) with revenue of $7.25 billion below expectations, set Q2 2026 guidance of $0.35–$0.65 EPS, and pays a $0.18 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.72, ~1.9% yield).

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 82.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,612 shares of the airline's stock after selling 70,030 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,726 shares of the airline's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,268 shares of the airline's stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline's stock valued at $806,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,791 shares of the airline's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 83,070 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Argus cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $57.50 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.11.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $38.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.35. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $28.79 and a one year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 46.45%.

Southwest Airlines 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.

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