Denali Advisors LLC Invests $1.65 Million in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,641 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in SkyWest in the second quarter worth approximately $682,530,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,177,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,184,956 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $118,981,000 after buying an additional 255,408 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 351,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,333,000 after buying an additional 166,926 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of SkyWest by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,966,485 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $498,685,000 after acquiring an additional 152,863 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $102.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. SkyWest, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.89 and a twelve month high of $123.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $101.11 and its 200-day moving average is $95.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.46.

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

SkyWest declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In related news, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.55, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 24.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 22,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $2,451,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,178,010.72. The trade was a 28.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock valued at $12,855,192 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% 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.