Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 69.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,651 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,369 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in SkyWest were worth $1,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in SkyWest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in SkyWest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in SkyWest by 157.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 491 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in SkyWest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 117.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 832 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SkyWest Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of SKYW stock opened at $101.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 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 quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $90.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.12.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $948.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $946.13 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. Analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday.

SkyWest 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.

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