Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNCY) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNCY) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,697,629 shares, a growth of 30.5% from the February 26th total of 3,601,082 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,262,594 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 9.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SNCY shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sun Country Airlines in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sun Country Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Sun Country Airlines from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Sun Country Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Sun Country Airlines from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sun Country Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Stephen Andrew Coley sold 2,052 shares of Sun Country Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.09, for a total value of $30,964.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 45,040 shares in the company, valued at $679,653.60. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jude Bricker sold 5,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.97, for a total value of $82,544.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 173,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,468.68. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,755 shares of company stock valued at $334,558. 5.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNCY. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sun Country Airlines by 1,728.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Sun Country Airlines in the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Sun Country Airlines by 40.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Sun Country Airlines by 183.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sun Country Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at $88,000.

Sun Country Airlines Price Performance

NASDAQ:SNCY traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.29. The stock had a trading volume of 435,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,001,412. The stock has a market capitalization of $866.95 million, a PE ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.55. Sun Country Airlines has a 52 week low of $8.10 and a 52 week high of $22.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Sun Country Airlines (NASDAQ:SNCY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. Sun Country Airlines had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 8.92%. The firm had revenue of $280.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. Sun Country Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sun Country Airlines will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sun Country Airlines Company Profile

Sun Country Airlines (NASDAQ: SNCY) is an American ultra-low-cost carrier providing a blend of scheduled and charter passenger services. The carrier focuses on leisure markets, offering nonstop flights to sun and ski destinations across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. In addition to its scheduled network, Sun Country operates charter services for sports teams, corporate groups and tour operators, as well as seasonal cargo charters that support e-commerce peak periods.

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sun Country has navigated multiple ownership and restructuring phases.