SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Earns Neutral Rating from The Goldman Sachs Group

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $119.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.04% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of SkyWest from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SkyWest has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.75.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of SKYW traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.17. 159,637 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,574. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 1.93. SkyWest has a twelve month low of $44.71 and a twelve month high of $116.47. The business's 50-day moving average price is $90.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.06. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.24. SkyWest had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The company had revenue of $912.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $896.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. SkyWest's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SkyWest will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 19,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $1,993,373.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 97,654 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,202,889.92. This represents a 16.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 27,903 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total transaction of $3,110,347.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 349,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,964,115.56. The trade was a 7.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 92,467 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,596. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in SkyWest by 1,368.0% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 367 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in SkyWest in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in SkyWest by 57.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 766 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 45.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.