Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.37 Million Stock Position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 233,175 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,574 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of SkyWest worth $20,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest in the fourth quarter worth $23,851,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 525,722 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 192,543 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of SkyWest by 1,999.6% during 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 150,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in SkyWest by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 399,324 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $39,984,000 after buying an additional 128,524 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SKYW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded SkyWest from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $120.50.

SkyWest Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of SKYW traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.76. 339,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,970. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.61 and a 12-month high of $135.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.88.

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

SkyWest announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.75, for a total value of $1,763,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 131,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,612,311.25. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 119,416 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,994,520. Corporate insiders own 2.00% 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.