Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes Position in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 35,151 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,492,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SKYW. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in SkyWest by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,165 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,192 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of SkyWest by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of SkyWest by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,827 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Stock Performance

NASDAQ SKYW opened at $98.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $102.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.61. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.89 and a 12 month high of $123.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.46.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on SKYW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on SkyWest from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.00.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In other news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $2,451,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,178,010.72. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.49, for a total transaction of $2,762,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,375,231.98. The trade was a 21.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock valued at $12,855,192. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.