Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 14,209 Shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 226,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 14,209 shares during the period. SkyWest comprises about 0.1% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in SkyWest were worth $19,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of SkyWest by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,252,410 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $184,855,000 after purchasing an additional 51,180 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in SkyWest by 16.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,151,578 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,510,000 after buying an additional 165,670 shares during the last quarter. SW Investment Management LLC raised its position in SkyWest by 13.2% in the second quarter. SW Investment Management LLC now owns 600,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,242,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of SkyWest by 90.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 551,060 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,225,000 after acquiring an additional 261,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of SkyWest by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 445,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,602,000 after acquiring an additional 96,830 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SKYW. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of SkyWest from $95.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of SkyWest in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on SkyWest from $100.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.75.

Insider Activity at SkyWest

In related news, CAO Eric Woodward sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.53, for a total transaction of $446,120.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 44,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,954,831.78. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert J. Simmons sold 16,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.02, for a total transaction of $1,731,254.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 113,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,923,865.78. This represents a 12.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,467 shares of company stock valued at $10,082,596 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

SkyWest Price Performance

Shares of SKYW opened at $109.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 1.93. SkyWest, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.42 and a 1-year high of $116.47.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $912.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $896.21 million. SkyWest had a return on equity of 11.02% and a net margin of 7.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that SkyWest, Inc. will post 7.16 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.