Ruffer LLP Purchases New Shares in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake of 30,038 shares in SkyWest valued at about $3.02 million, representing roughly 0.07% of the company at quarter-end.
• SkyWest reported quarterly EPS of $2.21, missing estimates by $0.04 while revenue of $1.02 billion beat forecasts and rose 8.5% year-over-year; the stock trades near $94.33 with a market cap of $3.79 billion and a consensus "Moderate Buy" price target of $119.80.
• Insider Wade J. Steel sold 20,629 shares for about $2.2 million (a 21% reduction in his position), and institutional investors own approximately 81.3% of SkyWest's stock.

Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 30,038 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $3,021,000. Ruffer LLP owned approximately 0.07% of SkyWest at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in SkyWest by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,612,098 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $162,209,000 after purchasing an additional 46,744 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 144,978 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $14,628,000 after purchasing an additional 28,669 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 189.7% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 19,044 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,916,000 after purchasing an additional 12,470 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 217.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 36,837 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,707,000 after purchasing an additional 25,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 172,424 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $17,349,000 after purchasing an additional 15,793 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SkyWest Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ SKYW opened at $94.33 on Wednesday. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $83.98 and a one year high of $123.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.63.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The transportation company reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.04). SkyWest had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 16.35%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $993.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SKYW. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of SkyWest from $112.00 to $101.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of SkyWest from $122.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $122.00 target price on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In other news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 20,629 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.53, for a total value of $2,197,607.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 77,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,249,470.14. The trade was a 21.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Profile

SkyWest, Inc NASDAQ: SKYW is a regional airline holding company that provides air transportation services through its primary subsidiary, SkyWest Airlines. The company operates flights under capacity purchase agreements with major carriers such as United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. By specializing in regional connectivity, SkyWest links smaller communities to larger hubs using a fleet of regional jets and turboprop aircraft.

Headquartered in St. George, Utah, SkyWest oversees all aspects of its airline operations, including flight scheduling, crew training and aircraft maintenance.

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