Acadian Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. $VLRS

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 5.9%, acquiring 71,163 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 1,268,133 shares.
• Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion reported better-than-expected earnings, with a loss of ($0.54) per share against an estimated loss of ($0.75), alongside a quarterly revenue of $693 million.
• Several research firms have revised their ratings on VLRS, with Barclays raising the price target from $4.50 to $5.50, while Citigroup downgraded to a neutral rating with a $7.00 price target.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,268,133 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,163 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 1.09% of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion worth $6,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 1st quarter valued at $105,000. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 1st quarter valued at $112,000. Advisors Preferred LLC raised its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 2,289.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 59,121 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 56,647 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 69,150 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 7,088 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 4th quarter valued at $549,000. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VLRS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.60 to $8.60 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $4.50 to $5.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $7.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.44.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Price Performance

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $6.70. 856,061 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,576. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $5.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.10. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 52-week low of $3.49 and a 52-week high of $9.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $781.21 million, a P/E ratio of -24.81 and a beta of 2.00.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.75) by $0.21. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative return on equity of 9.89% and a negative net margin of 1.03%.The firm had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $664.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Profile

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiary, Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación, SAP.I. de C.V., provides air transportation services for passengers, cargo, and mail in Mexico and internationally. The company operates approximately 590 daily flights on routes connecting 43 cities in Mexico, 22 cities in the United States, 4 cities in Central America, and 2 cities in South America.