Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,310,000 shares, a drop of 22.9% from the May 31st total of 1,700,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 360,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Currently, 8.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Allegiant Travel in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Allegiant Travel from $76.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Allegiant Travel from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Allegiant Travel from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.57.

Allegiant Travel Price Performance

NASDAQ:ALGT opened at $50.23 on Friday. Allegiant Travel has a one year low of $46.90 and a one year high of $130.93. The stock has a market cap of $915.79 million, a PE ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.50.

Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The transportation company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $656.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $645.23 million. Allegiant Travel had a return on equity of 0.50% and a net margin of 2.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Allegiant Travel will post 3.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegiant Travel Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. Allegiant Travel’s payout ratio is 75.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Keny Frank Wilper sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total value of $51,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $480,522. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Keny Frank Wilper sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.00, for a total value of $51,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,522. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Paul Wilson III sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.00, for a total transaction of $39,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,972,244. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,037 shares of company stock worth $1,395,948 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 17.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Allegiant Travel

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALGT. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd acquired a new position in Allegiant Travel in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,187,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Allegiant Travel by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 620,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,233,000 after purchasing an additional 82,813 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Allegiant Travel during the 3rd quarter worth $5,364,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allegiant Travel during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,177,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Allegiant Travel by 94.2% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 65,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,429,000 after buying an additional 31,875 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.81% of the company’s stock.

Allegiant Travel Company Profile

Allegiant Travel Company, a leisure travel company, provides travel services and products to residents of under-served cities in the United States. The company offers scheduled air transportation on limited-frequency, nonstop flights between under-served cities and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 126 Airbus A320 series aircraft.