SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Short Interest Down 15.8% in April

Key Points

• Short interest in SkyWest fell 15.8% in April to 1,191,202 shares (about 3.0% of shares), leaving a short-interest ratio of 3.3 days based on average daily volume.
• SkyWest beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $2.50 (vs. $2.15 expected) and $1.01 billion in revenue, and the stock traded up about 2% to $83.75 despite being below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Insider Wade J. Steel sold 20,629 shares for roughly $2.2 million (a 21% reduction in his holding); corporate insiders own 1.5% while institutional investors hold 81.3% of the company.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,191,202 shares, a decline of 15.8% from the March 31st total of 1,414,870 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 358,528 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

SkyWest Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of SKYW traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $83.75. 107,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 342,333. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $93.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.29. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.63. SkyWest has a 1-year low of $80.00 and a 1-year high of $123.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $993.06 million. SkyWest had a return on equity of 15.55% and a net margin of 10.42%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that SkyWest will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SKYW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $122.00 price objective on SkyWest in a research report on Monday, January 26th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on SkyWest from $106.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their target price on SkyWest from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of SkyWest in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SkyWest currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.00.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In other news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 20,629 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.53, for a total value of $2,197,607.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 77,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,249,470.14. The trade was a 21.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SKYW. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,590 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest in the first quarter worth about $227,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 118.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 8.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 85,577 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,812,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

About SkyWest

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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