Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC Has $36.52 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,118,609 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,469 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines accounts for 2.8% of Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $36,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 58,161 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 12,701 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 8.1% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 68,470 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 5,107 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at about $167,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 84,945 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 60.9% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 22,390 shares of the airline’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 8,478 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.77. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $35.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 21.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LUV. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.25.

Southwest Airlines 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.