11,522 Shares in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,522 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SKYW. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in SkyWest in the 4th quarter worth about $146,935,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,851,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 525,722 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $52,641,000 after acquiring an additional 192,543 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1,999.6% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 158,248 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $15,845,000 after acquiring an additional 150,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 9,644.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,111 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,290,000 after acquiring an additional 150,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Trading Down 1.7%

SkyWest stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 376,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,102. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.90. SkyWest, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.61 and a 1 year high of $135.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock's fifty day moving average is $96.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.26.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $946.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total value of $1,515,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,404.32. This trade represents a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.75, for a total value of $1,763,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 131,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,612,311.25. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,000 shares of company stock worth $4,994,520. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SKYW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $119.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

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.