SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) VP Greg Wooley Sells 17,726 Shares of Stock

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,788,211.65. The trade was a 24.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of SkyWest stock opened at $106.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.78. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $77.89 and a one year high of $123.94.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by ($0.16). SkyWest had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SKYW. Weiss Ratings raised SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.40.

Institutional Trading of SkyWest

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in SkyWest by 1.7% during the fourth 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 period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,192 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 4.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in SkyWest by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.