Eric Woodward Sells 7,000 Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Stock

Key Points

• Eric Woodward, the Chief Accounting Officer of SkyWest, Inc., sold 7,000 shares at an average price of $116.67, totaling approximately $816,690, resulting in a 12.77% decrease in his ownership stake.
• SkyWest reported a Q2 EPS of $2.91, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.34, alongside a 19.4% year-over-year revenue increase to $1.04 billion.
• The company’s Board of Directors has approved a $250 million share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in the stock's value and allowing for the buyback of up to 6.4% of its shares.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) CAO Eric Woodward sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total value of $816,690.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,810 shares in the company, valued at $5,577,992.70. This represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

SkyWest Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ SKYW traded down $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.96. The company had a trading volume of 305,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,107. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $104.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $135.57.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $979.95 million. SkyWest had a return on equity of 16.69% and a net margin of 10.62%. The firm's revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of SkyWest from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SKYW. GK Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in SkyWest by 2.4% in the first quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 11,893 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in SkyWest by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,145 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in SkyWest by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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