SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Short Interest Update

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,730,000 shares, a growth of 24.5% from the February 13th total of 1,390,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 421,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ SKYW traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.12. 2,059,572 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,977. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. SkyWest has a fifty-two week low of $64.61 and a fifty-two week high of $135.57. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $103.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.58.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that SkyWest will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total transaction of $1,537,842.85. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,267,563.01. This represents a 17.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 175,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,882,359.19. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in SkyWest by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,835 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,500 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,495 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of SkyWest by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,145 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.