Nuveen LLC Acquires Shares of 428,915 SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in SkyWest, Inc., purchasing 428,915 shares valued at approximately $37.47 million, which gives them about 1.06% ownership in the company.
• Major hedge funds have increased their stakes in SkyWest, with Allspring Global Investments raising their stake by over 1,000% in the first quarter, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• Recent earnings reports show SkyWest outperforming expectations with a 19.4% year-over-year revenue increase, leading to a consensus rating of "Buy" among analysts.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 428,915 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $37,474,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.06% of SkyWest as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in SkyWest in the fourth quarter worth approximately $100,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in SkyWest by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,023 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SkyWest by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of SkyWest stock traded down $1.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 188,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,959. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $108.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.98. SkyWest, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.55 and a fifty-two week high of $135.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.57. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $979.95 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 16.69%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 17,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.26, for a total value of $2,010,420.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 26,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.06, for a total transaction of $3,017,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 404,883 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,186 shares of company stock worth $15,201,258. Corporate insiders own 1.20% 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.