Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $22.69 Million Stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,027 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.56% of SkyWest worth $22,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in SkyWest during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in SkyWest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in SkyWest by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in SkyWest by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,561 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in SkyWest in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In related news, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 6,000 shares of SkyWest stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total value of $681,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Greg Wooley sold 14,545 shares of SkyWest 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,267,563.01. The trade was a 17.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

SkyWest Stock Down 4.3 %

SkyWest stock opened at $96.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.78. SkyWest, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.92 and a 52-week high of $135.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.72. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.98.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The transportation company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SKYW has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $120.00) on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of SkyWest in a report on Friday, November 15th.

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.