Insider Selling: SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) CEO Sells $5,717,105.00 in Stock

Key Points

• CEO Russell Childs sold 50,500 SkyWest shares at an average price of $113.21, generating $5.72 million and reducing his direct stake by 12.73% to 346,190 shares.
• SkyWest’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $2.54 versus the $2.70 consensus and revenue of $1.10 billion versus $1.11 billion, although revenue increased 6.5% year over year.
• The company authorized a $250 million stock buyback, covering up to 6.6% of shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $119.40 average price target, while shares recently traded at $108.26.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) CEO Russell Childs sold 50,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.21, for a total transaction of $5,717,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 346,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,192,169.90. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

SkyWest Price Performance

SKYW stock traded down $1.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $108.26. 385,882 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 383,322. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $77.89 and a one year high of $123.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.64.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.91 EPS. Equities analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to buy up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SkyWest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SKYW. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,590 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in SkyWest in the first quarter worth about $227,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in SkyWest by 7.6% in the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,825 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in SkyWest by 118.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in SkyWest by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 85,577 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,812,000 after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on SKYW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut SkyWest from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SkyWest from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.40.

SkyWest Company Profile

SkyWest, Inc NASDAQ: SKYW is a regional airline holding company that provides air transportation services through its primary subsidiary, SkyWest Airlines. The company operates flights under capacity purchase agreements with major carriers such as United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. By specializing in regional connectivity, SkyWest links smaller communities to larger hubs using a fleet of regional jets and turboprop aircraft.

Headquartered in St. George, Utah, SkyWest oversees all aspects of its airline operations, including flight scheduling, crew training and aircraft maintenance.

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