SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW Shares Acquired by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 71.0%, owning 62,955 shares worth approximately $5.5 million after acquiring an additional 26,135 shares.
• SkyWest reported a $2.91 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.57, alongside a revenue increase of 19.4% year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors has initiated a $250 million stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 71.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,955 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,135 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned approximately 0.16% of SkyWest worth $5,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SKYW. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 43.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 83.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,274 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 11.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SkyWest news, VP Greg Wooley sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.83, for a total value of $233,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 66,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,796,883.71. This trade represents a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.06, for a total value of $3,017,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 404,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,990,720.98. This represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,440,398. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

SkyWest Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:SKYW traded down $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $120.50. 330,524 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,161. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.57. SkyWest, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.70 and a twelve month high of $135.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.92.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.57. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on SKYW shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on SkyWest from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on SkyWest from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.75.

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.