12 Best Aviation Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

8. SkyWest Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 27

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) provides commercial flight services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. In order to contribute to revenue generation, it also rents aircraft to qualified users. The airline company generally offers regional flights and transports customers who purchased tickets through airlines using its smaller, less expensive aircraft. It collaborates with airlines throughout the world to fly and operate planes for a fee. The two reportable segments of the company are SkyWest Leasing and SkyWest Airlines.

SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)’s revenue grew 19% YoY to $913 million in the third quarter of 2024, fueled by a 15% increase in block hour production due to improved captain accessibility and the recognition of $19 million in previously deferred revenue under flying contracts. Net income increased from $23 million in Q3 2023 to $90 million in this quarter. The operating cash flow increased by 2.64% YoY.

TD Cowen maintained a Buy rating on SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) shares and increased their price target from $95 to $120 on November 5, 2024. According to the firm, management increased guidance for FY24 EPS and anticipates FY25 EPS to surpass previous consensus projections, and they produced yet another set of remarkable results.

Stephen White’s SW Investment Management was the largest stakeholder in the company among the funds in Insider Monkey’s database. It owns 775,000 shares worth $65.89 million as of Q3.

ClearBridge Small Cap Value Strategy stated the following regarding SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“We also added a new position in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW), a regional airline operator. The company reported strong quarterly earnings as its pilot attrition declines and fleet utilization improves. We believe that SkyWest continues to find opportunities to deploy capital in a value-accretive manner, acquiring more planes under long-term contracts. We think earnings should hold up in a potential recession and perhaps even improve further if major airlines reduce capacity and more pilots become available for SkyWest.”