AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. $VLRS

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its ownership in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by purchasing 977,249 shares, raising its stake by 322.5% to hold around 1.1% of the company, valued at approximately $6.68 million.
• Analysts have expressed mixed sentiments about the stock, with changes in ratings where Citigroup downgraded VLRS to "neutral" while Barclays increased its target price, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion reported a net loss with an EPS of ($0.54) but exceeded revenue expectations with $693 million in the latest quarter, projecting an EPS of 1.21 for the current year.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Free Report) by 322.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,280,268 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 977,249 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.10% of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion worth $6,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos raised its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 5.3% in the first quarter. Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos now owns 294,457 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,537,000 after purchasing an additional 14,725 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 4.1% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 273,847 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 10,706 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the first quarter valued at about $105,000. Ancient Art L.P. boosted its holdings in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 22.2% in the first quarter. Ancient Art L.P. now owns 1,816,225 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $9,481,000 after acquiring an additional 329,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the first quarter valued at about $1,830,000. 53.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE VLRS traded up $0.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.61. The company had a trading volume of 611,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 411,991. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 12 month low of $3.49 and a 12 month high of $9.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $5.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.10. The stock has a market cap of $770.26 million, a P/E ratio of -24.47 and a beta of 2.00.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VLRS shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.60 to $8.60 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group lifted 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 note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup downgraded 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 note on Friday, August 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.44.

About Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

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.