SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $116.76, but opened at $122.00. SkyWest shares last traded at $134.58, with a volume of 94,408 shares traded.

The transportation company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.59. SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.17% and a net margin of 9.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SKYW has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 27,903 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 349,548 shares in the company, valued at $38,964,115.56. This trade represents a 7.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald J. Mittelstaedt sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $2,801,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,264,372.98. This trade represents a 68.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,903 shares of company stock valued at $6,357,967 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SkyWest

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in SkyWest by 1,368.0% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 367 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in SkyWest in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in SkyWest during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in SkyWest by 47.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,180 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

SkyWest Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 1.98.

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.