Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ALGT. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Allegiant Travel from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Allegiant Travel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Allegiant Travel from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on Allegiant Travel from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Allegiant Travel from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.18.

Allegiant Travel Stock Performance

Allegiant Travel stock traded down $8.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.54. The company had a trading volume of 529,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,657. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.56. Allegiant Travel has a 12-month low of $39.80 and a 12-month high of $118.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $95.99 and its 200-day moving average is $77.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Insider Activity at Allegiant Travel

In related news, Chairman Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr. sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.23, for a total transaction of $19,990,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 1,962,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,159,012.04. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 300,000 shares of company stock valued at $34,350,512. Corporate insiders own 14.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Allegiant Travel by 4.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,677,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $101,948,000 after buying an additional 66,596 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Allegiant Travel by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,506,633 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $82,789,000 after acquiring an additional 156,186 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Allegiant Travel by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 828,012 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,607,000 after acquiring an additional 7,228 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Allegiant Travel by 5.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 688,322 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $41,829,000 after purchasing an additional 37,205 shares during the period. Finally, Par Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Allegiant Travel by 11.1% during the second quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 584,996 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,146,000 after purchasing an additional 58,566 shares in the last quarter. 85.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allegiant Travel Company Profile

Allegiant Travel Company is a holding company that operates Allegiant Air, a low?cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter air service. The company focuses on connecting underserved secondary markets with popular vacation destinations across the United States. By targeting price?sensitive leisure travelers, Allegiant Air operates a point?to?point network that avoids the traditional hub?and?spoke model, providing non?stop flights from smaller cities to resort and entertainment hubs.

In addition to its core flight operations, Allegiant Travel Company offers packaged travel services that include hotel accommodations, rental cars and attraction tickets through its online portal.