Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) Short Interest Up 75.9% in March

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,610,000 shares, a growth of 75.9% from the February 28th total of 915,300 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 646,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of VLRS traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $5.37. 1,641,430 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 689,604. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $625.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 2.48. Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación has a 1 year low of $5.15 and a 1 year high of $9.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $7.08 and its 200-day moving average is $7.30.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación (NYSE:VLRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The transportation company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.16). Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación had a net margin of 5.99% and a return on equity of 71.50%. The business had revenue of $835.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $709.48 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on VLRS. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Itau BBA Securities started coverage on shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $12.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.88.

Institutional Trading of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación during the fourth quarter worth $14,786,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación during the 4th quarter worth about $4,550,000. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,479,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,423,000 after purchasing an additional 291,252 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,106,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación by 236.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 53.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación 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.