Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 50.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,700 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in SkyWest were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,935,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest in the 4th quarter valued at $23,851,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 525,722 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $52,641,000 after buying an additional 192,543 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in SkyWest by 1,999.6% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 158,248 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $15,845,000 after buying an additional 150,711 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in SkyWest by 9,644.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,111 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,290,000 after buying an additional 150,550 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SKYW. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $96.82. 79,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 415,810. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $95.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.61. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.61 and a 52-week high of $135.57. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.38. SkyWest had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $948.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $946.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.75, for a total value of $1,763,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 131,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,612,311.25. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total value of $1,515,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 119,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,404.32. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,994,520. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.