SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's Why

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $115.55 and last traded at $114.51, with a volume of 26457 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on SKYW. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of SkyWest from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, SkyWest presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.33.

SkyWest Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $88.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.29.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $912.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $896.21 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 27,903 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value 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 approximately $38,964,115.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other SkyWest news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 19,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $1,993,373.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 97,654 shares in the company, valued at $10,202,889.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 27,903 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $3,110,347.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 349,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,964,115.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,467 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,596. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of SkyWest during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of SkyWest during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of SkyWest by 57.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 766 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of SkyWest by 45.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.