Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 9,967 Shares of SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in SkyWest, Inc. by 1.4%, now owning 699,388 shares worth approximately $61.1 million.
• SkyWest recently reported an impressive EPS of $2.91 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenues of $1.04 billion, up 19.4% year-over-year.
• The company's board has approved a $250 million share repurchase program, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 699,388 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 9,967 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.73% of SkyWest worth $61,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SKYW. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter valued at $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of SkyWest in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SkyWest in the 4th quarter valued at about $100,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,023 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of SKYW stock traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.44. 251,657 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,459. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $108.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.11. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.70 and a 52 week 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.95 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 16.69%. SkyWest's revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

SkyWest announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SKYW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $126.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In related news, Director James L. Welch sold 10,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.09, for a total transaction of $1,160,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,217,666.53. The trade was a 26.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 17,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.26, for a total transaction of $2,010,420.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 102,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,111,716.16. The trade was a 14.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 136,186 shares of company stock worth $15,201,258 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Company Profile

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.