Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ:ATSG) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $15.00 to $22.50. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. 668,530 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 590,233 shares.The stock last traded at $21.97 and had previously closed at $22.00.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Air Transport Services Group from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $22.50 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Air Transport Services Group in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Transport Services Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATSG. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Air Transport Services Group during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Air Transport Services Group during the second quarter worth $45,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Air Transport Services Group by 144.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Air Transport Services Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Air Transport Services Group by 1,320.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,871 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,528 shares during the last quarter. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Transport Services Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.00 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ:ATSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The transportation company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.03. Air Transport Services Group had a return on equity of 4.24% and a net margin of 0.90%. The firm had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Transport Services Group, Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

About Air Transport Services Group

Air Transport Services Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides aircraft leasing, and air cargo transportation and related services in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cargo Aircraft Management Inc (CAM) and ACMI Services. The company offers aircraft, flight crews, aircraft hull and liability insurance, and aviation fuel services; and aircraft maintenance and modification services, including airframe modification and heavy maintenance, component repairs, engineering services, and aircraft line maintenance.