In a regulatory filing, SkyWest
SKYW announced that its board of directors has approved a new share
repurchase program worth $250 million. Also, the regional carrier raised
its quarterly dividend by 20%. Notably, this St. George, UT-based
carrier has been consistently rewarding its shareholders for quite some
time.
Twin Shareholder-Friendly Moves
This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company hiked its quarterly dividend to 12 cents per share (annualized 48 per share), representing a 20% improvement from the previous payout of 10 cents per share (annualized 40 cents per share). The new dividend, which has been approved by the company’s board of directors, will be paid on Apr 4, 2019 to its stockholders of record as of Mar 29. The dividend yield based on the new payout and the Feb 6 closing market price is approximately 0.9%.
Austin FC is set to begin play in MLS in 2021 as the league’s 27th club, commissioner Don Garber announced Tuesday. The club will become the city’s first team in a major professional sports league.
The announcement was made at Rustic Tap in Austin’s West Sixth district, with Garber alongside Austin FC chairman/CEO Anthony Precourt and Austin mayor Steve Adler. The club will soon build a privately funded, $225 million soccer stadium at McKalla Place. Groundbreaking will begin this year on the 20,000-seat stadium, which planned to be completed in time for the club’s first match.
“Austin is a thriving metropolitan city – the personification of what we mean when we say MLS is a ‘League for a new America,’” Garber said in a league release. “We are extremely proud to be the first major professional sports league to become part of the culture of this historic American city. In their support of a world-class soccer stadium that benefits everyone, the leadership of the City of Austin has shown tremendous faith in our league and game, and Anthony Precourt has paved the way for Austin FC to have great success on and off the field. To the people of Austin and the surrounding community, welcome to Major League Soccer.”
Austin FC will become the third MLS club in Texas, joining FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo. Austin is the country’s 11th largest city and was selected by U.S. News and World Report in each of the last two years as the No. 1 place in the nation to live.
“This is a very proud moment for Precourt Sports Ventures, and we share it with the people of Austin, City leadership, the dedicated soccer fans of the region, and everyone who believed in our mission to bring Major League Soccer to this incredible community,” Precourt said. “The greatest way we can show our gratitude is in our actions as leaders of Austin FC. Our pledge is to build three essential pillars: a team that will be a perennial contender for MLS Cup, a stadium at McKalla Place that rivals the best sporting venues in North America, and a club that will bring people together and always give back.”
Said Mayor Adler: “This is a historic day for Austin, as MLS becomes the first major league to plant roots in our beautiful city. We believe professional soccer will bring a great and especially needed benefit to our city. In two years, this team and an elite soccer stadium will bring together all kinds of people from all over Austin in a way that we do not gather today. This is one important way we become a more socially integrated community. Thank you to Precourt Sports Ventures and MLS for bringing this opportunity to all the residents of Austin!”
The Alliance of American Football, a new professional league that will begin play in February, announced Tuesday that its Arizona based team will be known as the Arizona Hotshots.
“The Arizona Hotshots pay tribute to the elite, highly-trained teams of firefighters organized by the United States Forest Service and other federal, state and county agencies that bravely battle the most serious wildland fires around the country,” the AAF said in a press release Tuesday. “The Hotshots will have a profound appreciation for fearlessness, skill and honor and will selflessly play together as a team each week.
After 22 seasons at the old RFK Stadium, DC United will welcome the new Audi Field for their July 14 MLS Soccer matchup against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Click the link below to take an inside and outside look at the new Audi Field!
The Houston Astros look to defend their MLB title, as they start the season today against the Texas Rangers.
Also, very sad news on the Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season, as legend Rusty Staub has passed away at the age of 73. He enjoyed a 23-year baseball career with 5 different teams.
The Houston Astros won their first World Series in franchise history with a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. The Astros struck early with two runs in the first inning, and then 3 more in the second off the Dodgers starting pitcher Yu Darvish. The final blow was a two-run homer by center fielder George Springer.
The blast was George Springer’s 5th of the fall classic. That number earned him a World Series record tie with Reggie Jackson of the 1977 New York Yankees, and Chase Utley of the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies. George also set a World Series record with 29 total bases, and was awarded the World Series MVP award.
Gordie Howe, hockey’s ironman, passes away at age 88. Howe, known as Mr. Hockey, was the greatest goal scorer in hockey history until Wayne Gretzky eventually passed his record. Gordie Howe played in his first NHL game on October 16, 1946 for the Detroit Red Wings. The right winger would score a goal in that first game at the age of 18. Wearing the number 17 during his rookie season, he would switch to number 9 the following year, and wear that number for the rest of his career. He would go on to lead the Detroit Red Wings to four Stanley Cup championships during the 1950’s.
During those dominating years, Gordie was part of one of the greatest lines in NHL history. The Production Line teamed Howe with “Terrible” Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel. He would go on to lead the league in scoring six times. He also won the Hart Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the league six times as well. He would appear in his 23rd NHL All-Star Game at Joe Louis Arena less than two months before his 52nd birthday in 1980. Gordie actually still holds several of the Detroit Red Wings franchise records with 786 goals, 1,809 points, and 1,687 games played.
After retiring from Detroit in 1971, he took a job with the Red Wings front office. However, in 1973 he came out of retirement to join the newly formed World Hockey Association. The Houston Aeros of the WHA had signed Gordie’s sons mark and Marty. The Howe’s would go on to led the Aeros to back to back championships. With Houston folding prior to the start of the WHA’s last season, the Howe trio were traded to the New England Whalers. The newly named Hartford Whalers would be one of four teams to join the NHL following the WHA’s final season in 1979. Gordie would play for the Hartford Whalers for their first NHL season before retiring again in 1980.
Gordie Howe suffers stroke
Gordie Howe had a stroke two years ago. He had been suffering from symptoms of dementia for the two years prior to the stroke. Due to this declining health, Howe had been spending his time living alternately with his four children. He was staying with his daughter Cathy in Lubbock, Texas when he suffered his stroke in 2014. Mr. Howe went to Mexico to undergo stem cell treatment, one of two he would receive. Despite these therapies, Gordie’s health would continue to decline. He passed away just outside of Toledo in the town of Sylvania, Ohio, on June 10, 2016 at 88 years of age.
A Gordie Howe tribute video can be viewed at this link: Mr. Hockey
