Short Interest in Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) Expands By 8.6%

Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 810,800 shares, a growth of 8.6% from the March 31st total of 746,400 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 263,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Allegiant Travel Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:ALGT opened at $53.68 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.12 and a 200-day moving average of $72.24. The stock has a market cap of $981.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.83. Allegiant Travel has a 1 year low of $52.38 and a 1 year high of $130.93.

Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.41) by $0.52. Allegiant Travel had a return on equity of 3.80% and a net margin of 4.54%. The firm had revenue of $611.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Allegiant Travel will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegiant Travel Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Allegiant Travel’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALGT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Allegiant Travel from $76.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group started coverage on Allegiant Travel in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Allegiant Travel from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Allegiant Travel from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Allegiant Travel from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allegiant Travel

In other news, Director Gary Ellmer sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.10, for a total transaction of $158,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $671,559. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 17.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Allegiant Travel

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Allegiant Travel in the first quarter worth approximately $834,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allegiant Travel by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,799 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Allegiant Travel by 369.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,874 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 18,785 shares during the last quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Allegiant Travel by 2.3% during the first quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 32,934 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,477,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Allegiant Travel by 39.8% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. 85.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Allegiant Travel

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.