SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $95.20, but opened at $99.43. SkyWest shares last traded at $100.98, with a volume of 74,794 shares changing hands.

The transportation company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $912.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $896.21 million. SkyWest had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 5.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SkyWest

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in SkyWest by 13,737.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,214 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,198 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in SkyWest by 140.5% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,692 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,124,000 after buying an additional 34,867 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in SkyWest during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,448,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 35,834 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,475,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in SkyWest by 3.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 175,453 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $12,120,000 after purchasing an additional 5,053 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SkyWest Trading Up 6.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $84.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.55. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05 and a beta of 1.95.

About SkyWest

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.