Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Boosts Holdings in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 1,999.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,248 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150,711 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.39% of SkyWest worth $15,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SKYW. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in SkyWest during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,935,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,390,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $139,211,000 after purchasing an additional 97,108 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SkyWest by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 709,355 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,028,000 after purchasing an additional 26,561 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in SkyWest by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 543,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $54,371,000 after purchasing an additional 21,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 525,722 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,641,000 after buying an additional 192,543 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.73, for a total value of $1,537,842.85. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 68,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,267,563.01. This represents a 17.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SKYW has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of SkyWest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded SkyWest from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $119.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th.

SkyWest Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of SKYW opened at $94.07 on Wednesday. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.61 and a 12-month high of $135.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.38. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 14.17%. The business had revenue of $948.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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.