Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. $VLRS

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly reduced its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 58.0%, ending the quarter with 118,848 shares valued at approximately $620,000.
• In recent analyst ratings, Wall Street Zen upgraded the company from a "sell" to a "hold," while Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating and set a new target price of $4.40.
• Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion reported a quarterly earnings loss of ($0.54) EPS, which beat consensus estimates, alongside a revenue of $693 million, surpassing expectations of $664 million.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Free Report) by 58.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,848 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 164,260 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.10% of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion worth $620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 4th quarter worth $153,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 53.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 152,534 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 53,267 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 236.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 227,601 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,693,000 after purchasing an additional 159,900 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 378.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 62,062 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 49,080 shares during the period. Finally, Moneda S.A. Administradora General de Fondos raised its stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 5.3% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 14,725 shares during the period. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VLRS traded up $0.0450 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.9150. 817,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 628,977. 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 current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $689.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.91 and a beta of 2.15. The business's fifty day moving average price is $5.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.25.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VLRS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.60 to $8.60 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Itau BBA Securities cut Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $13.00 to $7.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.44.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Company 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.