Short Interest in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Grows By 25.4%

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,430,000 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the October 31st total of 1,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 341,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days. Approximately 3.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $119.00 price target on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.75.

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SKYW traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.74. 162,493 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,690. The company has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.09. SkyWest has a 52 week low of $45.99 and a 52 week high of $117.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.24. SkyWest had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The company had revenue of $912.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $896.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. SkyWest’s revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that SkyWest will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In related news, insider Wade J. Steel sold 19,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $1,993,373.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 97,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,202,889.92. The trade was a 16.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Eric Woodward sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total value of $446,120.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,954,831.78. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,467 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,596 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SkyWest

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of SkyWest by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,835 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in SkyWest by 1.9% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in SkyWest by 3.9% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,965 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 766 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.