Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación (NYSE:VLRS) Shares Down 10% on Disappointing Earnings

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:VLRS - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 10% during trading on Monday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $6.82 and last traded at $6.99. 362,319 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 550,145 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.77.

The transportation company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.16). Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación had a return on equity of 71.50% and a net margin of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $835.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $709.48 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VLRS shares. StockNews.com cut Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $16.50 to $17.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Itau BBA Securities initiated coverage on Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $18,423,000 after buying an additional 291,252 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,786,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,550,000. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 315,278 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,346,000 after acquiring an additional 79,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,106,000. 53.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $738.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 2.45. The business's 50 day moving average is $8.00 and its 200 day moving average is $7.29.

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.