Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 32.1%, acquiring a total of 32,840 shares after purchasing an additional 7,977 shares.
• SkyWest received several upgrades from analysts, with Goldman Sachs adjusting its price target from $119.00 to $117.00, and Raymond James raising it from $128.00 to $140.00.
• SkyWest reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with $2.91 EPS, beating estimates by $0.57, and posted a 19.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,840 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,977 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of SkyWest worth $2,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of SkyWest in the 4th quarter worth $23,851,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 525,722 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 192,543 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1,999.6% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 158,248 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $15,845,000 after purchasing an additional 150,711 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 9,644.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,111 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $13,290,000 after purchasing an additional 150,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 399,324 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $39,984,000 after purchasing an additional 128,524 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SkyWest Price Performance

SKYW stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $116.38. 61,976 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,438. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.88. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.61 and a 52-week high of $135.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $104.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.03.

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

SkyWest declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 15,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $1,515,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,404.32. This trade represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.91, for a total value of $1,715,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 449,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,333,010.22. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,000 shares of company stock worth $4,994,520. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.