Bandera Partners LLC Buys 121,240 Shares of SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Key Points

• Bandera Partners LLC increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 138.1%, owning 209,000 shares worth approximately $18.26 million, making it the 6th biggest position in their portfolio.
• SkyWest's recent earnings report surpassed expectations, with an EPS of $2.91 compared to estimates of $2.34, and revenue growth of 19.4% year-over-year.
• The company's stock has received several upgrades from analysts, with price targets raised by firms including Evercore ISI and Raymond James, indicating a consensus rating of "Buy" with a target price of $126.75.

Bandera Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 138.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,000 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 121,240 shares during the quarter. SkyWest accounts for about 6.6% of Bandera Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Bandera Partners LLC owned 0.52% of SkyWest worth $18,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in SkyWest by 8.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,505,919 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $131,572,000 after acquiring an additional 115,619 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in SkyWest by 4.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 564,732 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $49,341,000 after purchasing an additional 21,723 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in SkyWest by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 472,763 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $47,338,000 after purchasing an additional 51,607 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter valued at $37,474,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in SkyWest by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 415,296 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $41,584,000 after purchasing an additional 57,547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of SKYW stock traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $114.47. The stock had a trading volume of 282,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,273. SkyWest, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.70 and a fifty-two week high of $135.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.98. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $108.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.11.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.57. SkyWest had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 16.69%. The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $979.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

SkyWest announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,186 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,392,436.82. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James L. Welch sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.09, for a total value of $1,160,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,217,666.53. The trade was a 26.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders 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.