SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW Shares Acquired by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,826 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,836 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.20% of SkyWest worth $7,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SKYW. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of SkyWest by 273.6% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 269 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 118.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.49, for a total transaction of $2,762,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 93,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,375,231.98. This trade represents a 21.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 22,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total transaction of $2,451,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 55,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,178,010.72. The trade was a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 115,226 shares of company stock worth $12,855,192. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $95.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.89 and a 52-week high of $117.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.00.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SKYW has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on SkyWest from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.00.

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.