SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) just reached a 52-week high at almost $54 on December 11th. The stock has performed very well the last two quarters of 2017, rallying at 43.6 percent. The Zacks airline industry it is partnered with had only gained just 1 percent in the same amount of time.
Why the growth?
SkyWest’s has made serious efforts in the last few years on modernizing their current fleet, and has reduced their 50-seat jets to add new E175 aircrafts.
This Utah-baed airline made purchase deals with Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) back in October of this year. In this agreement, SkyWest will operate 15 Embraer E175 SC (70 seats) aircrafts and five Embraer E175 (76 seats) under the Delta and Alaskan groups.
The airline outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate within the last 13 quarters and last quarter had a substantially better quarter reporting better-than-expected revenues and earnings.
SkyWest’s efforts to reward its shareholders through share buybacks and dividends raises further optimism in the stock. Back in February of 2017, the airline hiked its quarterly dividend by nearly 60%.
Moreover, the company’s efforts to reward shareholders through dividends and share buybacks raise optimism in the stock. In February 2017, the company hiked its quarterly dividend by 60%. Also, SkyWest’s expansion-related efforts are impressive.
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