SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 6.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 198,527 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,986 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in SkyWest were worth $16,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of SkyWest during the second quarter worth $54,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 57.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 766 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 45.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 928 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SkyWest Price Performance

NASDAQ:SKYW opened at $74.84 on Thursday. SkyWest, Inc. has a one year low of $36.91 and a one year high of $87.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 1.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.92.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The transportation company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.09. SkyWest had a net margin of 5.55% and a return on equity of 8.18%. The company had revenue of $867.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $826.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that SkyWest, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In related news, Director James L. Welch sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $158,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,674,214.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other SkyWest news, Director James L. Welch sold 7,605 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.68, for a total transaction of $598,361.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,812,990.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James L. Welch sold 2,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $158,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,674,214.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.