QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $2.02 Million Position in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 74.3% in Q2, owning 19,628 shares valued at $2.02 million as of the last quarter.
• Several brokerages have shifted their ratings on SkyWest, with Raymond James upgrading it to a "strong-buy" and a consensus price target now set at $126.75.
• SkyWest reported $2.91 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and showed a 19.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 74.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,628 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 8,366 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in SkyWest were worth $2,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SKYW. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in SkyWest during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in SkyWest by 38.4% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 551 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in SkyWest during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in SkyWest by 11.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in SkyWest by 32.4% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,935 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SKYW. Raymond James Financial raised SkyWest from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on SkyWest from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.75.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $99.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.86. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.70 and a 12-month high of $135.57.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In other news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total transaction of $2,018,667.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,392,436.82. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.06, for a total value of $3,017,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 404,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,990,720.98. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,186 shares of company stock valued at $10,440,398 in the last 90 days. 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.

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