Summit Global Investments Invests $1.17 Million in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,802 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in SkyWest in the 2nd quarter valued at about $426,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in SkyWest by 39.4% during the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in SkyWest during the second quarter worth about $269,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of SkyWest in the first quarter worth about $181,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of SkyWest by 3.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,268 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $107.58 on Friday. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.89 and a 52-week high of $123.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $100.01 and a 200 day moving average of $95.54. 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 capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.46.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.91 earnings per share. SkyWest’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to buy up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SKYW. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of SkyWest from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $126.00 to $115.00 in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.49, for a total value of $2,762,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 93,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,375,231.98. This trade represents a 21.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 50,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $39,192,169.90. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 115,226 shares of company stock worth $12,855,192 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.