Financial Survey: SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) versus Surf Air Mobility (NYSE:SRFM)

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) and Surf Air Mobility (NYSE:SRFM) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.3% of SkyWest shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.7% of Surf Air Mobility shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of SkyWest shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Surf Air Mobility shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

SkyWest has a beta of 1.92, suggesting that its stock price is 92% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Surf Air Mobility has a beta of 2.92, suggesting that its stock price is 192% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SkyWest and Surf Air Mobility”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SkyWest	$3.53 billion	1.39	$322.96 million	$9.83	12.35
Surf Air Mobility	$119.43 million	1.55	-$74.91 million	($2.78)	-1.56

SkyWest has higher revenue and earnings than Surf Air Mobility. Surf Air Mobility is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SkyWest, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares SkyWest and Surf Air Mobility’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SkyWest	10.62%	16.69%	5.75%
Surf Air Mobility	-53.48%	N/A	-46.15%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for SkyWest and Surf Air Mobility, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SkyWest	0	0	4	0	3.00
Surf Air Mobility	0	1	2	0	2.67

SkyWest currently has a consensus target price of $126.75, indicating a potential upside of 4.41%. Surf Air Mobility has a consensus target price of $6.58, indicating a potential upside of 52.22%. Given Surf Air Mobility’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Surf Air Mobility is more favorable than SkyWest.

Summary

SkyWest beats Surf Air Mobility on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. ExpressJet Airlines operates through partnerships with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. Based in St. George, Utah, SkyWest employs nearly 17,000 employees.

About Surf Air Mobility

Surf Air Mobility Inc. operates as an electric aviation and air travel company in the United States. The company offers an air mobility platform with scheduled routes and on demand charter flights operated by third parties. Surf Air Mobility Inc. is headquartered in Hawthorne, California.