Air Transport Services Group Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:ATSG)

Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 2,224 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 572% compared to the typical volume of 331 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ATSG shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Air Transport Services Group from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Transport Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Transport Services Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Transport Services Group by 14.7% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,964,670 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,120,000 after buying an additional 380,958 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Air Transport Services Group by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,864,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,855,000 after acquiring an additional 239,919 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Transport Services Group by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Capital Management Company LLC now owns 1,119,942 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,534,000 after purchasing an additional 233,789 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Transport Services Group by 82.3% during the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 487,930 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,714,000 after purchasing an additional 220,300 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Air Transport Services Group by 300.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 253,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,515,000 after acquiring an additional 190,202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.81% of the company’s stock.

Air Transport Services Group Stock Performance

Air Transport Services Group stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.32. The company had a trading volume of 294,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,975. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Air Transport Services Group has a 52 week low of $11.62 and a 52 week high of $20.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.72 and a 200-day moving average of $14.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ:ATSG) last issued its 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 net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 4.24%. The company had revenue of $488.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $513.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Transport Services Group will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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.