SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,159 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 353 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in SkyWest were worth $617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of SkyWest in the fourth quarter worth about $146,935,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in SkyWest in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,851,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in SkyWest by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 525,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,641,000 after purchasing an additional 192,543 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 563.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 399,324 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,984,000 after purchasing an additional 128,524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SKYW shares. Raymond James reduced their price objective on SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded SkyWest from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $119.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In related news, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 68,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,267,563.01. This represents a 17.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 $19,882,359.19. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $85.10 on Tuesday. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.61 and a 52 week high of $135.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last issued 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 last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

About SkyWest

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.