Navellier & Associates Inc. Acquires 53,035 Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 431.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,338 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,035 shares during the quarter. SkyWest comprises 0.8% of Navellier & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in SkyWest were worth $6,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in SkyWest during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in SkyWest by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of SkyWest by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the third quarter worth $158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $96.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.68. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $59.92 and a one year high of $135.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $108.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.98.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.59. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 14.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total transaction of $1,537,842.85. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,267,563.01. The trade was a 17.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $681,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 175,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,882,359.19. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SKYW shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

About SkyWest

SkyWest, Inc is the holding company for two scheduled passenger airline operations and an aircraft leasing company. SkyWest’s airline companies provide commercial air service in cities throughout North America with nearly 3,000 daily flights carrying more than 53 million passengers annually. SkyWest Airlines operates through partnerships with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.