Freestone Grove Partners LP Invests $3.49 Million in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 35,151 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,492,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.09% of SkyWest at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in SkyWest by 480.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 261 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 273.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the third quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SKYW shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on SkyWest from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.00.

SkyWest Price Performance

SkyWest stock opened at $98.87 on Friday. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.89 and a 52-week high of $123.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.70 by ($0.16). The business 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%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $2,451,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 55,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,178,010.72. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.55, for a total transaction of $1,924,157.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 53,323 shares in the company, valued at $5,788,211.65. This trade represents a 24.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 115,226 shares of company stock worth $12,855,192 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

SkyWest Profile

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.