J. Goldman & Co LP Makes New Investment in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 130,792 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,992,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in SkyWest during the second quarter valued at about $2,252,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,093,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,439,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,944,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in SkyWest by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 27,892 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,771,000 after purchasing an additional 12,440 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SKYW opened at $103.51 on Wednesday. SkyWest, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.89 and a 1-year high of $123.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $101.94 and a 200-day moving average of $95.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.46.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.78% and a return on equity of 14.58%. SkyWest’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 50,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.21, for a total transaction of $5,717,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 346,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,192,169.90. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.55, for a total transaction of $1,924,157.30. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 53,323 shares in the company, valued at $5,788,211.65. This trade represents a 24.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock worth $12,855,192 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SKYW. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SkyWest currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

SkyWest Company Profile

SkyWest, Inc (NASDAQ: SKYW) is a regional airline holding company that provides air transportation services through its primary subsidiary, SkyWest Airlines. The company operates flights under capacity purchase agreements with major carriers such as United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. By specializing in regional connectivity, SkyWest links smaller communities to larger hubs using a fleet of regional jets and turboprop aircraft.

Headquartered in St. George, Utah, SkyWest oversees all aspects of its airline operations, including flight scheduling, crew training and aircraft maintenance.