SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Trading 6% Higher After Strong Earnings

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) shares rose 6% on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $78.79 and last traded at $77.50. Approximately 101,278 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 475,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.14.

The transportation company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $804.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $800.07 million. SkyWest had a return on equity of 1.59% and a net margin of 1.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.45) earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of SkyWest from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on SkyWest from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised SkyWest from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised SkyWest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on SkyWest from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James L. Welch sold 2,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.72, for a total value of $133,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,740,790.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SkyWest

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 3rd quarter valued at about $900,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of SkyWest during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of SkyWest during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $386,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of SkyWest by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the 3rd quarter valued at $294,000. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SkyWest Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.67 and a beta of 1.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.02 and its 200-day moving average is $55.00.

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.