Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $3.76 Million Holdings in SkyWest, Inc. $SKYW

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 50.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,952 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,649 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in SkyWest were worth $3,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of SkyWest by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,901 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying 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 fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,192 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 4.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in SkyWest by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

SkyWest Stock Performance

Shares of SkyWest stock opened at $106.97 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.74 and a 200-day moving average of $94.78. SkyWest, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.89 and a 1-year high of $123.94. 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 market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.45.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. SkyWest had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 9.78%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other SkyWest news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.49, for a total value of $2,762,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 93,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,375,231.98. This trade represents a 21.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 50,500 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.21, for a total value of $5,717,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 346,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,192,169.90. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 93,226 shares of company stock worth $10,403,512 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Profile

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.