Russell Childs Sells 50,500 Shares of SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Stock

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) CEO Russell Childs sold 50,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.21, for a total transaction of $5,717,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 346,190 shares in the company, valued at $39,192,169.90. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

SkyWest Trading Down 1.3%

SKYW traded down $1.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $108.26. 385,882 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 383,322. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. SkyWest, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.89 and a fifty-two week high of $123.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

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 company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 9.78%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.69 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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. Citigroup upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SkyWest

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SKYW. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 261 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in SkyWest during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. 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 in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in SkyWest in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 118.5% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% 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.