SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Insider Wade J. Steel Sells 17,000 Shares

Key Points

• Wade J. Steel, an insider at SkyWest, Inc., sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $118.26, totaling approximately $2.01 million, resulting in a 14.24% decrease in his holdings.
• SkyWest reported earnings of $2.91 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $1.04 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 19.4%.
• The company has initiated a $250 million share buyback program, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued, and currently holds a consensus rating of "Buy" from several analysts.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) insider Wade J. Steel sold 17,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.26, for a total transaction of $2,010,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 102,416 shares in the company, valued at $12,111,716.16. This represents a 14.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

SkyWest Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ SKYW traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $115.96. The company had a trading volume of 305,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,107. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $104.98 and a 200 day moving average of $100.03. SkyWest, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.61 and a 1-year high of $135.57.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The transportation company reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $979.95 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 10.62% and a return on equity of 16.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Trading of SkyWest

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,505,919 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $131,572,000 after buying an additional 115,619 shares in the last quarter. SW Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of SkyWest by 5.9% in the second quarter. SW Investment Management LLC now owns 900,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $92,673,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in SkyWest by 4.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 564,732 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $49,341,000 after purchasing an additional 21,723 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in SkyWest by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 525,722 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 192,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in SkyWest by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 472,763 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,338,000 after purchasing an additional 51,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

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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