Key Insights

Institutions' substantial holdings in SkyWest implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price 50% of the business is held by the top 9 shareholders Insiders have sold recently

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A look at the shareholders of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) can tell us which group is most powerful. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 88% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 6.1% last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 28% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of SkyWest.

View our latest analysis for SkyWest NasdaqGS:SKYW Ownership Breakdown May 10th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SkyWest?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that SkyWest does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of SkyWest, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.NasdaqGS:SKYW Earnings and Revenue Growth May 10th 2025

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in SkyWest. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 17%. With 12% and 6.7% of the shares outstanding respectively, The Vanguard Group, Inc. and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP are the second and third largest shareholders. Furthermore, CEO Russell Childs is the owner of 0.6% of the company's shares.

We did some more digging and found that 9 of the top shareholders account for roughly 50% of the register, implying that along with larger shareholders, there are a few smaller shareholders, thereby balancing out each others interests somewhat.

Story Continues

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of SkyWest

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

We can see that insiders own shares in SkyWest, Inc.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own US$50m worth of shares (at current prices). If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can  click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a 11% stake in SkyWest. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Be aware that  SkyWest is showing  2 warning signs in our investment analysis, you should know about...

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this freereport on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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