Short Interest in Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:PAC) Drops By 15.6%

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:PAC) saw a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 117,300 shares, a decline of 15.6% from the August 31st total of 138,900 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 57,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PAC. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 72,786 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,696,000 after acquiring an additional 3,517 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico in the first quarter worth about $119,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico during the first quarter worth about $261,000. Eagle Ridge Investment Management grew its stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management now owns 70,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank cut shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $224.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico from $177.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America upgraded Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico Stock Performance

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico stock traded down $2.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $177.69. 75,146 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,593. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.47. Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico has a 1 year low of $107.25 and a 1 year high of $197.31.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (NYSE:PAC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.01 by ($0.46). The business had revenue of $421.54 million for the quarter. Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico had a return on equity of 47.50% and a net margin of 29.26%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico will post 9.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $3.8657 per share. This is a positive change from Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico’s previous semi-annual dividend of $2.09. This represents a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.75%.

About Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, SAB. de C.V., together with its subsidiaries, holds concessions to develop, operate, and manage airports in Mexico and Jamaica. The company operates twelve international airports in Guadalajara and Tijuana areas, Mexico; and two international airports in Montego Bay, Jamaica.