SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate SkyWest “Hold” on average: Of six brokerages, three recommend holding, two buying, and one selling; the average 12-month price target is $111.40.
• Quarterly results were mixed: SkyWest reported earnings of $3.08 per share, slightly above estimates, while revenue of $1.12 billion fell short of forecasts; revenue rose 6.4% year over year.
• The board authorized a $250 million share buyback, allowing repurchases of up to 6.6% of outstanding shares.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.40.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on SkyWest from $123.00 to $116.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $116.00 price target on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of SkyWest from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded SkyWest from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th.

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of SKYW stock opened at $79.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $94.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. SkyWest has a 12 month low of $77.68 and a 12 month high of $117.72.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.07 by $0.01. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that SkyWest will post 10.25 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buy back $250 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of SkyWest

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in SkyWest in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 78.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 468 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new position in SkyWest during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

About SkyWest

SkyWest, Inc NASDAQ: SKYW is an airline holding company that operates regional passenger air service in the United States. Its primary subsidiary, SkyWest Airlines, connects smaller and midsized communities with larger airline hubs and provides scheduled flights under capacity-purchase agreements with major airline partners.

SkyWest Airlines operates flights under the United Express, Delta Connection and Alaska Airlines brands, serving destinations throughout the United States and select locations in Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas.

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