Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Holdings in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,194 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,019 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in SkyWest were worth $10,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in SkyWest by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,252,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $184,855,000 after buying an additional 51,180 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in SkyWest by 16.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,151,578 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,510,000 after acquiring an additional 165,670 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in SkyWest by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 960,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $81,697,000 after acquiring an additional 6,542 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in SkyWest by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,794 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,051,000 after acquiring an additional 76,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SW Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in SkyWest by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. SW Investment Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,242,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Trading Down 0.6 %

SKYW stock opened at $101.80 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. SkyWest, Inc. has a twelve month low of $48.28 and a twelve month high of $117.51.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $912.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $896.21 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SKYW shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of SkyWest from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald J. Mittelstaedt sold 25,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $2,801,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,372.98. The trade was a 68.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 27,903 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.47, for a total value of $3,110,347.41. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 349,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,964,115.56. The trade was a 7.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,467 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,596. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.