SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $116.76, but opened at $122.00. SkyWest shares last traded at $134.58, with a volume of 94,408 shares changing hands.

The transportation company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.59. SkyWest had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 11.02%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SKYW. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.75.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In related news, Director Ronald J. Mittelstaedt sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $2,801,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,372.98. This trade represents a 68.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 19,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $1,993,373.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,202,889.92. This trade represents a 16.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 92,467 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,596. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 960,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,697,000 after acquiring an additional 6,542 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,794 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,051,000 after acquiring an additional 76,007 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 484,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,162,000 after acquiring an additional 143,661 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 357,510 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,396,000 after acquiring an additional 11,169 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,690,000 after acquiring an additional 10,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Trading Up 3.6 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $108.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.22. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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.