SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.25.

Several research analysts have recently commented on SKYW shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on SkyWest from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. TD Cowen increased their target price on SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday, November 15th.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SKYW traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $115.83. The stock had a trading volume of 481,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,039. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 1.98. SkyWest has a twelve month low of $52.78 and a twelve month high of $119.36. The business's fifty day moving average is $108.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $912.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $896.21 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts expect that SkyWest will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Eric Woodward sold 4,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $446,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,954,831.78. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald J. Mittelstaedt sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $2,801,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,264,372.98. This represents a 68.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,467 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,596. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SkyWest

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in SkyWest in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 1,368.0% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 367 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in SkyWest by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,180 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 47.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

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.