Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $15.43 Million Stock Holdings in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. has increased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. by 243.9% during the first quarter, now owning 0.44% of the company with shares valued at approximately $15.4 million.
• SkyWest reported a 19.4% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $1.04 billion, and exceeded earnings estimates with $2.91 EPS.
• The company's board has authorized a $250 million share repurchase program, allowing the acquisition of up to 6.4% of its outstanding shares, signaling potential undervaluation.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 243.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,573 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 125,235 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.44% of SkyWest worth $15,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in SkyWest by 13.5% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,600 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,450,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in SkyWest by 25.1% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 15,163 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,325,000 after buying an additional 3,042 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its position in SkyWest by 232.4% in the first quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 46,342 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,049,000 after buying an additional 32,401 shares during the period. Bandera Partners LLC increased its position in SkyWest by 138.1% in the first quarter. Bandera Partners LLC now owns 209,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $18,260,000 after buying an additional 121,240 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in SkyWest by 501.4% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 109,528 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $9,569,000 after buying an additional 91,316 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,186 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total value of $2,018,667.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director James L. Welch sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 27,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,217,666.53. This trade represents a 26.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,186 shares of company stock worth $10,440,398 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $120.50. 330,576 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,338. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.92. SkyWest, Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.70 and a 1-year high of $135.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.