Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Invests $534,000 in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. $VLRS

Key Points

• Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. has acquired 102,326 shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, valued at approximately $534,000, representing a 0.09% ownership stake.
• Institutional investors collectively own 53.32% of Controladora Vuela, with significant recent investments from Wellington Management Group and Banco BTG Pactual.
• The stock is priced at $6.18 and analysts predict a consensus EPS of 1.21 for the current fiscal year, with a consensus target price of $7.44.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 102,326 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $534,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. owned about 0.09% of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VLRS. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,396 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 1st quarter worth $105,000. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion during the 1st quarter worth approximately $112,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion in the 4th quarter valued at $153,000. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC boosted its position in Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion by 2,289.7% during the first 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 last quarter. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $4.50 to $5.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion from $9.60 to $8.60 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.44.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion Price Performance

Shares of Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion stock traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $6.16. 260,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,042. 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 firm has a market cap of $717.67 million, a PE ratio of -22.87 and a beta of 2.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $5.38 and its 200-day moving average is $5.17. Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. has a one year low of $3.49 and a one year high of $9.00.

Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The transportation company reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $693.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, S.A.B. de C.V. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal 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.