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

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $127.1667.

Several research analysts have recently commented on SKYW shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of SkyWest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $132.00 target price on SkyWest in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on SkyWest from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st.

SkyWest Stock Performance

SKYW stock opened at $100.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.60. SkyWest has a 12-month low of $74.70 and a 12-month high of $135.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The transportation company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. SkyWest had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 17.14%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SkyWest will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Meredith Siegfried Madden sold 4,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $503,401.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,702,067.48. The trade was a 15.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of SkyWest

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in SkyWest by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,612,098 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $162,209,000 after purchasing an additional 46,744 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,009,759 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $103,992,000 after buying an additional 19,521 shares during the last quarter. SW Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SkyWest by 5.9% during the second quarter. SW Investment Management LLC now owns 900,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,673,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of SkyWest by 1.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 573,074 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $59,009,000 after buying an additional 8,342 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in SkyWest by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 548,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,208,000 after buying an additional 7,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Company 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.