Savant Capital LLC Acquires New Position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,413 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,835 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,783 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 12,443 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SkyWest Stock Performance

SkyWest stock traded down $4.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.65. 456,242 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,767. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.92 and a 12-month high of $135.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.98. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $108.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.15.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.59. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 14.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total value of $1,537,842.85. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,267,563.01. The trade was a 17.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $681,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 175,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,882,359.19. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SKYW. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

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.