Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC) Stock Price Up 8.5% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Frontier Group shares rose 8.5% in midday trading, reaching as high as $5.81 before last trading near $5.97, though volume was well below average.
• Recent analyst action has been mixed but generally cautious: several firms raised price targets, while the stock’s overall consensus rating remains "Reduce" with a $6.86 target price.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but it also posted negative profitability metrics and saw a major insider selloff, including a 34% reduction by a large shareholder.

Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC - Get Free Report) shot up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $5.81 and last traded at $5.9650. Approximately 888,553 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 4,698,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ULCC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Frontier Group from $5.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Frontier Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Frontier Group from $4.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Frontier Group from $4.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Frontier Group from $4.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $6.86.

Frontier Group Trading Up 6.9%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.37 and a 200 day moving average of $5.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 2.56.

Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Frontier Group had a negative return on equity of 39.20% and a negative net margin of 9.62%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.19) EPS. Frontier Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -0.600--0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. will post -0.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Group Holdings - Frontier Llc sold 11,700,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.20, for a total value of $84,240,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,706,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,486,987.20. The trade was a 34.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh A. Wetzel sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.75, for a total transaction of $64,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,289.75. This trade represents a 52.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,811,670 shares of company stock valued at $84,843,756. Insiders own 48.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontier Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ULCC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Frontier Group by 46.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 18,777 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 5,913 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Frontier Group by 33.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,013,456 shares of the company's stock worth $4,398,000 after buying an additional 251,509 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Frontier Group by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 117,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 7,791 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Frontier Group by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 108,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 28,256 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Frontier Group in the 2nd quarter worth $477,000.

About Frontier Group

Frontier Group, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ULCC, is the holding company for Frontier Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier based in Denver, Colorado. The company’s core business centers on providing no-frills air travel across a point-to-point network while generating ancillary revenue from add-on services such as baggage fees, seat selection, priority boarding and in-flight refreshments. This fare-plus-a-la-carte model allows Frontier to offer competitive base fares and maintain low operating costs.

Founded in February 1994 by industry veterans Andrew Levy and Russell Beardsmore, Frontier Airlines commenced operations with a small fleet of MD-80 aircraft.

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