SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $113.00.

SKYW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $116.00 price objective on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $123.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 53,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,788,211.65. This represents a 24.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 50,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.21, for a total transaction of $5,717,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 346,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,192,169.90. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock valued at $12,855,192. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SKYW. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in SkyWest by 78.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in SkyWest by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,710 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in SkyWest by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in SkyWest in the second quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $91.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.47. SkyWest has a 1 year low of $77.89 and a 1 year high of $117.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 9.78%. SkyWest’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that SkyWest will post 10.58 EPS for the current year.

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

About SkyWest

SkyWest, Inc is a regional airline holding company headquartered in St. George, Utah. Its principal subsidiary, SkyWest Airlines, provides scheduled passenger air service on behalf of major U.S. airlines through capacity purchase and codeshare agreements.

SkyWest Airlines operates flights under the United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska Airlines brands. Its services connect smaller and midsize communities with larger hub airports across the United States, with additional service to destinations in Canada and Mexico.