Insider Selling: SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) VP Sells 17,726 Shares of Stock

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.55, for a total value of $1,924,157.30. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

SkyWest Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SKYW traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.97. 335,913 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,995. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.69. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.89 and a 12 month high of $123.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SKYW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SkyWest has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.40.

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.