SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.8333.

SKYW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $122.00 target price on SkyWest in a report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of SkyWest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of SkyWest from $132.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on SkyWest in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In related news, Director Meredith Siegfried Madden sold 4,725 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $503,401.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,067.48. This trade represents a 15.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 20,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.53, for a total value of $2,197,607.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,438 shares in the company, valued at $8,249,470.14. The trade was a 21.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 32,725 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,834 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in SkyWest by 0.8% in 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 period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in SkyWest by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of 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 grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,192 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of SkyWest stock opened at $102.61 on Monday. SkyWest has a 52 week low of $74.70 and a 52 week high of $123.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.54.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $993.12 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.35%. SkyWest’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that SkyWest will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.