SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SKYW. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

SkyWest Stock Performance

SKYW stock traded down $1.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.11. 143,544 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 399,602. SkyWest has a 1-year low of $64.61 and a 1-year high of $135.57. The company's fifty day moving average price is $93.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.83.

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SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that SkyWest will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 $19,882,359.19. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SkyWest

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter worth $27,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in SkyWest in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in SkyWest in the first quarter worth about $32,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SkyWest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

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.