SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $95.41 and traded as high as $108.41. SkyWest shares last traded at $107.23, with a volume of 217,219 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.40.

SkyWest Stock Down 0.7%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.46. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by ($0.16). SkyWest had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In related news, 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.55, for a total transaction of $1,924,157.30. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 53,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,788,211.65. The trade was a 24.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock worth $12,855,192. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the second quarter valued at about $682,530,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in SkyWest during the second quarter valued at about $28,177,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in SkyWest by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,184,956 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $118,981,000 after acquiring an additional 255,408 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in SkyWest by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 351,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,333,000 after acquiring an additional 166,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

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.