SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $89.10, but opened at $85.41. SkyWest shares last traded at $88.13, with a volume of 41,046 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on SKYW shares. StockNews.com cut SkyWest from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Raymond James decreased their target price on SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $119.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

SkyWest Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.90.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.38. SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 9.15%. The business had revenue of $948.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $946.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 175,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,882,359.19. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,537,842.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,737 shares in the company, valued at $7,267,563.01. The trade was a 17.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SkyWest

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 129,901 shares during the period. Invst LLC raised its position in shares of SkyWest by 39.1% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 5,405 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the third quarter worth about $233,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the third quarter worth about $648,000. 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.