Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup Inc.

Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVE) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup Inc. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $52.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $65.00. Citigroup Inc.’s target price points to a potential upside of 30.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on SAVE. Bank of America Corporation lowered shares of Spirit Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday. Cowen and Company restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective (down from $59.00) on shares of Spirit Airlines in a report on Friday. BidaskClub lowered shares of Spirit Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (down from $60.00) on shares of Spirit Airlines in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG decreased their price objective on shares of Spirit Airlines from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.04.

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) traded down 0.90% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.71. 3,526,679 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.47. Spirit Airlines has a 12-month low of $37.17 and a 12-month high of $60.40.

Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ:SAVE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The transportation company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.03. Spirit Airlines had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $701.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Spirit Airlines will post $4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, VP Edmundo Miranda sold 3,131 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.39, for a total value of $185,950.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Spirit Airlines by 253.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 71,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after buying an additional 51,238 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Spirit Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,114,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Spirit Airlines by 0.3% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 96,711 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,132,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Spirit Airlines by 22.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,233 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockshelter Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Spirit Airlines by 0.3% in the first quarter. Rockshelter Capital Management LLC now owns 248,493 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,188,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period.

About Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines, Inc is an airline company. The Company provides air transportation for passengers. As of December 31, 2016, its all-Airbus Fit Fleet operated over 420 daily flights to 59 destinations in the United States, Caribbean and Latin America. As of December 31, 2016, it had a fleet of 95 Airbus single-aisle aircraft, which are referred to as A320 family aircraft and include the A319, A320 and A321 models, which have common design and equipment but differ most notably in fuselage length, service range and seat capacity.