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

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $123.8333.

Several equities analysts recently commented on SKYW shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of SkyWest from $132.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut SkyWest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $122.00 price target on SkyWest in a research note on Monday, January 26th.

SkyWest Stock Performance

SkyWest stock opened at $102.61 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.54. SkyWest has a 52 week low of $74.70 and a 52 week high of $123.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SkyWest news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 20,629 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $2,197,607.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 77,438 shares in the company, valued at $8,249,470.14. This trade represents a 21.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Meredith Siegfried Madden sold 4,725 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $503,401.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,067.48. This trade represents a 15.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,725 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,834. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SkyWest in the second quarter worth $40,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in SkyWest during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in SkyWest by 118.5% during the 2nd 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 period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.