SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment 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 analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $123.8333.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SKYW. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of SkyWest from $132.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of SkyWest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of SkyWest in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on SkyWest in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $122.00 target price on SkyWest in a report on Monday, January 26th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Meredith Siegfried Madden sold 4,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $503,401.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,702,067.48. This represents a 15.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 20,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.53, for a total transaction of $2,197,607.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 77,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,249,470.14. This trade represents a 21.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 32,725 shares of company stock worth $3,493,834 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SkyWest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 0.8% in the 2nd 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. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of SkyWest by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in SkyWest by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in SkyWest by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,192 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in SkyWest by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Price Performance

SkyWest stock opened at $92.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.65. SkyWest has a one year low of $74.70 and a one year high of $123.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.07. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.58.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.04). SkyWest had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $993.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. SkyWest’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that SkyWest will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.