SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 9.6%, acquiring a total of 40,153 shares valued at approximately $3.5 million.
• SkyWest's stock received several upgrades from analysts, with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average price target of $126.75.
• The company announced a $250 million stock buyback plan, indicating that its leadership believes the shares are undervalued.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,153 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 3,513 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of SkyWest worth $3,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SKYW. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in SkyWest by 40.9% in the 4th 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. raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,863 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 109.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,185 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,722,000 after purchasing an additional 14,181 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,675 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 86,539 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $8,665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of SkyWest from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of SkyWest from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $126.75.

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $116.50 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $107.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.15. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.09 and a 12 month high of $135.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.98.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 16.69%. SkyWest's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other SkyWest news, CAO Eric Woodward sold 7,000 shares of SkyWest 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,577,992.70. The trade was a 12.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,186 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total transaction of $2,018,667.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,392,436.82. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,186 shares of company stock valued at $15,201,258 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.

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