AlphaQuest LLC Buys 11,730 Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 170.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,604 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,730 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in SkyWest were worth $1,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pitcairn Co. acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the third quarter worth approximately $535,000. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the 3rd quarter worth about $539,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in SkyWest by 3.2% in the third 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. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 563.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,940 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $13,002,000 after acquiring an additional 129,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in SkyWest by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,549 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 11,494 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SkyWest Stock Up 1.1 %

SKYW stock traded up $0.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $83.90. 461,663 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,583. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.30 and a twelve month high of $135.57. The firm's 50 day moving average is $105.99 and its 200 day moving average is $99.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 2.00.

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SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total value of $681,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 175,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,882,359.19. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,267,563.01. This trade represents a 17.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SKYW shares. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $119.00 target price 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.