17,500 Shares in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 17,500 SkyWest shares worth approximately $1.74 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 81.3% of the company.
• SkyWest reported quarterly EPS of $2.54, below the $2.70 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $1.10 billion. The company also authorized a $250 million share repurchase program, covering up to 6.6% of outstanding shares.
• Insiders sold 115,226 shares worth about $12.9 million during the last quarter. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $121, above the reported $96.14 share price.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,500 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SKYW. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in SkyWest by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,590 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the first quarter worth $227,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 7.6% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,825 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 118.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in SkyWest by 8.8% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 85,577 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,812,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In other news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $2,451,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 55,438 shares in the company, valued at $6,178,010.72. This trade represents a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.55, for a total value of $1,924,157.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 53,323 shares in the company, valued at $5,788,211.65. This represents a 24.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock valued at $12,855,192. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

SkyWest Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $96.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. SkyWest, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.89 and a fifty-two week high of $117.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.01.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.70 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded SkyWest from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of SkyWest from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of SkyWest from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.00.

About SkyWest

SkyWest, Inc is a regional airline holding company headquartered in St. George, Utah. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides scheduled passenger air service for major U.S. airline partners, connecting smaller communities with larger hub airports.

SkyWest Airlines operates flights under capacity purchase agreements with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. Its fleet primarily consists of regional aircraft, including Embraer E175 and Bombardier CRJ models, and serves destinations throughout the United States as well as selected locations in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

SkyWest also operates SkyWest Charter, which provides public charter air transportation.

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