Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Holdings in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 503,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 56,369 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 1.27% of SkyWest worth $46,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of SkyWest by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,165 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,192 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $110.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $92.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.45. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.45. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.89 and a 12 month high of $123.94.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $126.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.40.

About SkyWest

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.