Brokerages Set SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Price Target at $127.17

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $127.1667.

SKYW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $132.00 target price on SkyWest in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of SkyWest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of SkyWest in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SkyWest in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

SkyWest Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of SkyWest stock opened at $102.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.41. SkyWest has a 1 year low of $74.70 and a 1 year high of $135.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. SkyWest had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 17.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that SkyWest will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In related news, Director Meredith Siegfried Madden sold 4,725 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $503,401.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,702,067.48. The trade was a 15.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of SkyWest

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SKYW. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 3.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,612,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $162,209,000 after buying an additional 46,744 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in SkyWest by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,009,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $103,992,000 after acquiring an additional 19,521 shares during the period. SW Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in SkyWest by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. SW Investment Management LLC now owns 900,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,673,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in SkyWest by 1.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 573,074 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,009,000 after acquiring an additional 8,342 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 1.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 548,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,208,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.