Insider Selling: SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) CFO Sells 17,186 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• SkyWest, Inc. CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,186 shares of stock on July 30th for approximately $2 million, reducing his ownership by 13.10%.
• SkyWest's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.91, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $1.04 billion, reflecting a 19.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a $250 million share buyback program, which signals trust in the stock's value among its board members.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 17,186 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.46, for a total value of $2,018,667.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,392,436.82. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of SKYW traded down $6.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.11. The stock had a trading volume of 414,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,311. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $135.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.33 and a 200 day moving average of $100.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.98.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 EPS 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 firm 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 business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SkyWest

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SKYW. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of SkyWest in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,474,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in SkyWest in the fourth quarter valued at $23,851,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1,999.6% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 158,248 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $15,845,000 after acquiring an additional 150,711 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in SkyWest by 9,644.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 152,111 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $13,290,000 after buying an additional 150,550 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in SkyWest in the 1st quarter valued at $12,839,000. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SKYW shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of SkyWest from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of SkyWest from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $126.75.

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.

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