Why the Flight Centre share price travelled 12% higher in March

It was a good month for Flight Centre shareholders in March.

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Key points

  • Flight Centre shares gained 12% in March
  • While quiet on the news front, investors appear buoyant on Flight Centre's recovery to pre-COVID levels
  • A couple of brokers gave their take on the company's shares with Bell Potter indicating a 12-month $20.50 price target

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price headed north last month, recording a 12% gain.

This is despite the company navigating through a series of events such as the global pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

At Tuesday's market close, the travel agent's shares finished 1.81% higher to $19.74.

What has happened to Flight Centre shares lately?

The company has kept a relatively low profile since announcing its half-year results to the market in late February.

Nonetheless, the Flight Centre share price has continued to track since the beginning of last month.

This could be due to the company reporting strong top-line growth with a favourable outlook in FY23.

Flight Centre achieved revenue of $315.7 million in H1 FY22, up 98.1% over the prior corresponding period. This was underpinned by a significant rebound in sales after the Delta variant spike in August/September 2021.

On the bottom line, Flight Centre reported an underlying loss of $188 million, up 4% year-on-year. Management advised that this was driven partly by the prior corresponding period benefiting from $65 million of government subsidies.

Furthermore, the company is hoping to achieve profit by this month and a return to pre-COVID TTV [total transaction value] levels in FY23.

Are Flight Centre shares a buy?

A couple of brokers weighed in on the Flight Centre share price following the company's financial scorecard.

The team at Bell Potter raised its 12-month price target by 2.5% to $20.50 for Flight Centre shares. Based on the current share price, this implies a potential upside of around 4% for investors.

On the other hand, Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the company's shares by 4.4% to $19.50 apiece. Its analysts believe that the travel agent share is fully-valued at this point in time.

Flight Centre share price summary

It's been a challenging 12 months for Flight Centre shareholders, despite advancing 10% over the period.

The company's share price reached a 52-week high of $25.28 in early October when Australia had managed the pandemic. However, since the outbreak of the Omicron variant, its shares struggled to regain composure until now.

On valuation grounds, Flight Centre presides a market capitalisation of roughly $3.94 billion, with approximately 199.7 million shares outstanding.

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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