SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• SkyWest has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from six analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $119.40. Ratings include four holds, one buy and one strong buy.
• Recent analyst actions were mixed: Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to neutral and cut its target to $115, while TD Cowen raised its target to $115 and issued a buy rating; Citigroup also raised its target to $105 while maintaining a neutral rating.
• SkyWest missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.54 in EPS versus a $2.70 consensus estimate, but revenue rose 6.5% year over year. The board also authorized a $250 million share-repurchase plan, covering up to 6.6% of outstanding shares.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.40.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SKYW shares. Weiss Ratings raised SkyWest from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of SkyWest from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $126.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

SkyWest Stock Performance

NASDAQ SKYW opened at $109.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. SkyWest has a fifty-two week low of $77.89 and a fifty-two week high of $123.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 9.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that SkyWest will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current year.

SkyWest declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SkyWest

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SKYW. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,165 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in SkyWest by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,901 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in SkyWest by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,192 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in SkyWest by 4.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in SkyWest by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,601 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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