Empowered Funds LLC Invests $1.10 Million in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. $VLRS

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 152,417 shares of Controladora Vuela, valued at approximately $1.10 million, giving it a 0.13% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 53.32% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.41, with recent upgrades from UBS but downgrades from Goldman Sachs and Itau BBA.
• Volaris reported a quarterly loss of $1.11 per share, slightly worse than estimates, despite revenue of $859 million exceeding forecasts. Shares opened at $8.19, within a 52-week range of $5.53 to $10.80.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 152,417 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.13% of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 432,989 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 225,336 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,279,000. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,219,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,840,000. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the first quarter valued at approximately $860,000. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VLRS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $7.60 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Itau BBA Securities lowered Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $7.40 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Dean Donovan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.54, for a total value of $377,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,946,050 shares in the company, valued at $22,213,217. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:VLRS opened at $8.19 on Friday. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. has a 52-week low of $5.53 and a 52-week high of $10.80. The company has a market capitalization of $954.35 million, a PE ratio of -4.99 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.78, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.29 and a 200-day moving average of $8.17.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported ($1.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.08) by ($0.03). Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion had a negative return on equity of 93.91% and a negative net margin of 5.71%.The business had revenue of $859.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $854.70 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. will post -2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion

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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