U S Global Investors Inc. Reduces Stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

U S Global Investors Inc. decreased its stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 270,074 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 32,164 shares during the period. SkyWest accounts for about 3.1% of U S Global Investors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. U S Global Investors Inc. owned about 0.66% of SkyWest worth $23,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the first quarter worth $1,007,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 193.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in SkyWest during the 4th quarter worth about $254,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in SkyWest in the 4th quarter worth about $23,851,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in SkyWest by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 90,487 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,060,000 after buying an additional 13,077 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $119.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded SkyWest from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, SkyWest has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total transaction of $1,515,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,404.32. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.75, for a total transaction of $1,763,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 131,203 shares in the company, valued at $13,612,311.25. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,994,520. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $104.10. The stock had a trading volume of 338,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,010. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $97.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.76. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $64.61 and a one year high of $135.57.

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

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

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.