Sun Country Airlines (NASDAQ:SNCY) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNCY) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $20.00. The stock had previously closed at $15.95, but opened at $17.04. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Sun Country Airlines shares last traded at $16.9170, with a volume of 79,636 shares.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research cut Sun Country Airlines from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Sun Country Airlines in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $22.00) on shares of Sun Country Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sun Country Airlines in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sun Country Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Insider Activity at Sun Country Airlines

In other news, CEO Jude Bricker sold 5,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.97, for a total transaction of $82,544.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 173,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,468.68. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stephen Andrew Coley sold 2,052 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.09, for a total transaction of $30,964.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 45,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $679,653.60. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,755 shares of company stock worth $334,558. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sun Country Airlines

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SNCY. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sun Country Airlines by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 371,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,350,000 after acquiring an additional 27,248 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Sun Country Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sun Country Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $173,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. boosted its position in Sun Country Airlines by 180.6% during the 4th quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 875,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,601,000 after purchasing an additional 563,631 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Sun Country Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $377,000.

Sun Country Airlines Stock Up 5.4%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.88. The company has a market capitalization of $894.84 million, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

About Sun Country Airlines

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.