SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) Sets New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The stock traded as low as $77.68 and last traded at $77.70, with a volume of 597,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.68.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SKYW. Weiss Ratings raised SkyWest from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on SkyWest from $123.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered SkyWest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $116.00 price objective on SkyWest in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SkyWest

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SKYW. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SkyWest in the second quarter valued at approximately $682,530,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in SkyWest by 0.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,529,333 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $232,260,000 after acquiring an additional 20,678 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in SkyWest by 38.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 495,927 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,447,000 after acquiring an additional 138,155 shares in the last quarter. Owl Creek Asset Management L.P. raised its position in SkyWest by 2.6% in the first quarter. Owl Creek Asset Management L.P. now owns 326,332 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,967,000 after acquiring an additional 8,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in SkyWest in the second quarter worth $28,177,000. 81.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

SkyWest Trading Down 3.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.61.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The transportation company reported $3.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.07 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.81 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that SkyWest, Inc. will post 10.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $250 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase up to 6.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About SkyWest

SkyWest, Inc (NASDAQ: SKYW) is an airline holding company that operates regional passenger air service in the United States. Its primary subsidiary, SkyWest Airlines, connects smaller and midsized communities with larger airline hubs and provides scheduled flights under capacity-purchase agreements with major airline partners.

SkyWest Airlines operates flights under the United Express, Delta Connection and Alaska Airlines brands, serving destinations throughout the United States and select locations in Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas.