SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,730,000 shares, an increase of 24.5% from the February 13th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 421,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of SKYW traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $87.01. 40,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 441,994. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. SkyWest has a fifty-two week low of $64.30 and a fifty-two week high of $135.57. The company has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 2.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.32 and its 200 day moving average is $99.55.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.59. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 14.17%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SkyWest will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $681,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 175,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,882,359.19. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total transaction of $1,537,842.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 68,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,267,563.01. This represents a 17.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of SkyWest in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in SkyWest during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in SkyWest during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of SkyWest by 157.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 491 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.