SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $119.40.

SKYW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.55, for a total transaction of $1,924,157.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 53,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,788,211.65. This trade represents a 24.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.49, for a total value of $2,762,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 93,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,375,231.98. The trade was a 21.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock valued at $12,855,192. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 480.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in SkyWest in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in SkyWest by 273.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 269 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of SkyWest during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 118.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SkyWest Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $115.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.42 and its 200 day moving average is $95.09. SkyWest has a fifty-two week low of $77.89 and a fifty-two week high of $123.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.57.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.70 by ($0.16). SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 9.78%.The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SkyWest will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current year.

SkyWest declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About SkyWest

SkyWest, Inc (NASDAQ: SKYW) is a regional airline holding company that provides air transportation services through its primary subsidiary, SkyWest Airlines. The company operates flights under capacity purchase agreements with major carriers such as United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. By specializing in regional connectivity, SkyWest links smaller communities to larger hubs using a fleet of regional jets and turboprop aircraft.

Headquartered in St. George, Utah, SkyWest oversees all aspects of its airline operations, including flight scheduling, crew training and aircraft maintenance.