Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULCC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $5.96, but opened at $6.46. Frontier Group shares last traded at $6.0150, with a volume of 859,519 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.13. Frontier Group had a negative return on equity of 25.73% and a negative net margin of 3.65%.Frontier Group’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Frontier Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at -0.400-0.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at -0.440–0.260 EPS.

Key Frontier Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Frontier Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Frontier reported $0.23 EPS vs. consensus ~$0.10 and posted stable RASM with CASM improvements (CASM ex-fuel 7.36¢), showing operational resilience and that cost controls helped offset industry pressure. Frontier Beats Q4 Estimates (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Cost savings & fleet plan — Management targets ~$200M in savings through 2027, a 10% growth rate and accelerated fleet rightsizing that could materially improve margins if executed. Frontier Targets Growth & Cost Savings (MSN)
• Positive Sentiment: AerCap fleet transaction — Non‑binding agreement for early return of 24 A320neos and up to 10 sale‑leaseback deals should allow faster fleet optimization and potential near‑term cash/lease flexibility. Fleet Optimization with AerCap (PR Newswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Liquidity and metrics — Year‑end liquidity reported ~$874M (including expanded revolver), which cushions execution risk but doesn’t remove near‑term guidance pressure. Q4 Financial Results (PR Newswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data appears anomalous / zero in the feeds (likely reporting noise), so it’s not a meaningful signal today. (data entries)
• Negative Sentiment: Weak 2026 guidance — Frontier set FY 2026 EPS of -$0.40 to -$0.50 and Q1 2026 EPS of -$0.44 to -$0.26, well below consensus (FY consensus ~+$0.02), which pressures near‑term valuation and investor expectations. Guidance & Results (PR Newswire)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/insider signals — Deutsche Bank downgraded ULCC to Hold and an SVP sold 5,000 shares; mixed analyst commentary and insider selling can add short‑term selling pressure. Deutsche Bank Downgrade (Finviz / The Fly) Insider Sale (InsiderTrades)
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary warns the rally may be cooling — articles raising concerns about valuation and runway could amplify profit‑taking. MarketWatch: Concerns Over Rally

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULCC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $4.00 target price (down previously from $5.00) on shares of Frontier Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Frontier Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Frontier Group from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Frontier Group in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $5.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Frontier Group from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $6.13.

Insider Activity at Frontier Group

In other news, CEO Barry Biffle sold 82,627 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.78, for a total value of $477,584.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 631,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,652,012.08. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Steve Schuller sold 5,000 shares of Frontier Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.00, for a total value of $30,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 94,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $569,556. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 310,000 shares of company stock worth $1,700,444. Corporate insiders own 48.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Frontier Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Frontier Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Frontier Group by 130.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 4,885 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Frontier Group by 165.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 6,253 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Frontier Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Frontier Group by 490.7% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 10,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 9,078 shares in the last quarter.

Frontier Group Trading Down 7.9%

The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.68. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.00 and a beta of 2.55.

About Frontier Group

Frontier Group, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ULCC, is the holding company for Frontier Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier based in Denver, Colorado. The company’s core business centers on providing no-frills air travel across a point-to-point network while generating ancillary revenue from add-on services such as baggage fees, seat selection, priority boarding and in-flight refreshments. This fare-plus-a-la-carte model allows Frontier to offer competitive base fares and maintain low operating costs.

Founded in February 1994 by industry veterans Andrew Levy and Russell Beardsmore, Frontier Airlines commenced operations with a small fleet of MD-80 aircraft.