Short Interest in International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (OTCMKTS:ICAGY) Grows By 241.4%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 241.4% in March to 53,765 shares from 15,748 on Feb. 26, but this is still a tiny absolute amount (0.0% of shares short) with a days-to-cover of just 0.1 thanks to very high average daily volume (558,041).
• Analyst views are mixed—Barclays upgraded ICAGY to Overweight while Zacks cut it to Hold, and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy (four Buys, one Hold, one Sell).
• Quarterly EPS beat expectations ($0.82 vs. $0.33) while revenue missed ($9.29B vs. $9.64B), and the stock trades at a low PE of 2.49 with a market cap around $22.4 billion.

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (OTCMKTS:ICAGY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 53,765 shares, a growth of 241.4% from the February 26th total of 15,748 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 558,041 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 558,041 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on ICAGY shares. Zacks Research cut International Consolidated Airlines Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Barclays upgraded International Consolidated Airlines Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

International Consolidated Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:ICAGY traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $9.82. The company had a trading volume of 52,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,470. The company has a market cap of $22.42 billion, a PE ratio of 2.49, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $10.98 and a 200 day moving average of $10.75. International Consolidated Airlines Group has a 52-week low of $5.60 and a 52-week high of $12.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

International Consolidated Airlines Group (OTCMKTS:ICAGY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The transportation company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.49. International Consolidated Airlines Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 167.88%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.64 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that International Consolidated Airlines Group will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About International Consolidated Airlines Group

International Consolidated Airlines Group OTCMKTS: ICAGY is a Europe-focused airline holding company formed in 2011 through the combination of British Airways and Iberia. The group owns and operates a portfolio of passenger carriers that provide short-haul, long-haul and low-cost services, together with associated aviation businesses. Its operations span international and domestic markets, with extensive networks across Europe, transatlantic routes and links to Latin America and other global destinations.

IAG's principal airline brands include British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.