SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 11% in the last month. Despite this, the stock is a strong performer over the last year, no doubt about that. During that period, the share price soared a full 107%. So it is important to view the recent reduction in price through that lense. Investors should be wondering whether the business itself has the fundamental value required to continue to drive gains.

While this past week has detracted from the company's one-year return, let's look at the recent trends of the underlying business and see if the gains have been in alignment.

See our latest analysis for SkyWest

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Over the last twelve months SkyWest went from profitable to unprofitable. While some may see this as temporary, we're a skeptical bunch, and so we're a little surprised to see the share price go up. We might get a clue to explain the share price move by looking to other metrics.

Unfortunately SkyWest's fell 5.5% over twelve months. So the fundamental metrics don't provide an obvious explanation for the share price gain.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

Take a more thorough look at SkyWest's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that SkyWest shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 107% over the last year. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 5% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. This makes us a little wary, but the business might have turned around its fortunes. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand SkyWest better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for SkyWest you should be aware of.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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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.