Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 82,493 Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 90.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,677 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 82,493 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in SkyWest were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in SkyWest by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,145 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 14,786 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 11.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 5.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,322 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 16,057 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SkyWest Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of SkyWest stock traded down $0.23 on Wednesday, reaching $111.03. 371,277 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,590. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $102.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. SkyWest, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $135.57.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $948.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.13 million. SkyWest had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 9.89%. SkyWest's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In related news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $1,515,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,404.32. The trade was a 11.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.91, for a total value of $1,715,470.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 449,242 shares in the company, valued at $45,333,010.22. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,994,520 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SKYW shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $119.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded SkyWest from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.50.

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.