Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 46.1%, owning 146,769 shares worth approximately $12.8 million after acquiring an additional 46,302 shares.
• SkyWest's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting an EPS of $2.91, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.57, and a revenue of $1.04 billion, a year-over-year increase of 19.4%.
• Despite insider sales totaling over $11 million in the past ninety days, multiple brokerages have upgraded the stock, with price targets reaching as high as $140.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,769 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,302 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.36% of SkyWest worth $12,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SKYW. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in SkyWest by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 42,092 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,215,000 after buying an additional 12,223 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in SkyWest by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,863 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in SkyWest by 109.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,185 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,722,000 after buying an additional 14,181 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in SkyWest by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,675 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $769,000 after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in SkyWest by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 543,009 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $54,371,000 after buying an additional 21,637 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SKYW. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on SkyWest from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.75.

SkyWest Stock Down 0.1%

SkyWest stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.50. 241,861 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 387,680. The business's 50 day moving average is $107.86 and its 200 day moving average is $100.15. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.09 and a 52 week high of $135.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.98. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $979.95 million. SkyWest had a return on equity of 16.69% and a net margin of 10.62%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,186 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total value of $2,018,667.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,017 shares in the company, valued at $13,392,436.82. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Eric Woodward sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.67, for a total value of $816,690.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,577,992.70. This trade represents a 12.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 136,186 shares of company stock worth $15,201,258. Company insiders own 2.00% 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.