Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stock Position in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC decreased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 5.1%, owning 131,170 shares worth approximately $11.46 million after selling 7,116 shares in the first quarter.
• SkyWest's CFO Robert J. Simmons completed a significant stock sale of 17,186 shares valued at over $2 million, reflecting a decrease in his ownership by 13.1%.
• SkyWest recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.91 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 19.4% year-over-year to approximately $1.04 billion.

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 131,170 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 7,116 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.32% of SkyWest worth $11,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SKYW. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 1st quarter valued at $37,474,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of SkyWest by 9,644.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,111 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,290,000 after purchasing an additional 150,550 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 1st quarter valued at $12,839,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of SkyWest by 243.9% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 176,573 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $15,427,000 after purchasing an additional 125,235 shares during the period. Finally, Bandera Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of SkyWest by 138.1% during the 1st quarter. Bandera Partners LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $18,260,000 after purchasing an additional 121,240 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In other news, Director James L. Welch sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.09, for a total value of $1,160,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,217,666.53. This represents a 26.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.26, for a total value of $2,010,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 102,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,111,716.16. The trade was a 14.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,186 shares of company stock worth $10,440,398. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ SKYW traded down $1.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $107.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 401,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,576. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.92. 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 fifty day moving average of $114.36 and a 200 day moving average of $101.09. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $74.70 and a one year high of $135.57.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 16.69% and a net margin of 10.62%.The business had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $979.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

SkyWest 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.