The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes $1.94 Million Position in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 19,569 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,944,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.05% of SkyWest as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 23,590 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the first quarter valued at $227,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in SkyWest by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in SkyWest by 118.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in SkyWest by 8.8% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 85,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,812,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of SKYW stock opened at $96.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $102.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.26. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $77.89 and a one year high of $123.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.70 by ($0.16). SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 9.78%.The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. SkyWest’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.64 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Greg Wooley sold 17,726 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 53,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,788,211.65. The trade was a 24.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wade Steel sold 22,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $2,451,680.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 55,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,178,010.72. This trade represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,226 shares of company stock valued at $12,855,192. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of SkyWest from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $121.00.

SkyWest 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.