Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts: The consensus rating is a "Hold" from 12 brokers (1 sell, 5 hold, 6 buy) with an average 1‑year price target of about $8.97.
• Financials & market data: VLRS opened at $7.23 (52‑week range $3.49–$10.80) with a market cap of $842.4M and a negative P/E of -8.12; the most recent quarter missed EPS ($0.04 vs. $0.25 forecast) despite revenue of $882M, and the company reported negative ROE and net margin.
• Institutional interest: Several funds (Arrowstreet, Millennium, Walleye, Barclays) have recently increased or initiated positions, and institutions now own about 53.32% of the stock.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $8.9667.

VLRS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.50 to $11.20 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Trading Up 4.9%

VLRS opened at $7.23 on Tuesday. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion has a fifty-two week low of $3.49 and a fifty-two week high of $10.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $842.44 million, a PE ratio of -8.12 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company's 50-day moving average is $8.89 and its 200 day moving average is $7.86.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The transportation company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $882.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $845.68 million. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative return on equity of 38.03% and a negative net margin of 3.42%. As a group, research analysts predict that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 48.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,720,522 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $12,353,000 after acquiring an additional 565,250 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 126.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 990,495 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $8,796,000 after purchasing an additional 553,251 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,611,000. Walleye Capital LLC grew its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 527,323 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,683,000 after purchasing an additional 264,446 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 4th quarter valued at $2,129,000. 53.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Company Profile

Controladora Vuela Compañia de Aviacion, SAB de CV NYSE: VLRS is a Mexico-based airline holding company whose primary business is the operation of low-cost scheduled air transportation services. Through its principal operating subsidiary, Volaris, the company provides passenger and cargo flights on domestic and international routes. Its business model emphasizes unbundled ancillary services and point-to-point operations designed to offer competitive fares across its network.

Volaris serves more than 120 routes linking major metropolitan areas and secondary cities in Mexico, the United States and Central America.

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