The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has seen its fair share of ups and downs since the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel share first listed in December 1995.
The biggest down, as you're likely aware, came in the month following the onset of the global pandemic in early 2020.
But when was the best day ever for the Flight Centre share price?
Flight Centre share price closes for all-time high
That day was 20 August, 2018.
By the time the closing bell rang the Flight Centre share price stood at $69.36, a long way from the current price of $20.13.
Investors at the time were rewarding the company for record full-year financial results for 2018, released the prior week. Those results included all-time high underlying profits before tax of $384.7 million, up 17% from the prior year and 2% higher than Flight Centre's previous record profits from FY 2014.
The ASX 200 travel share also reported a record total transaction value (TTV) of $21.8 billion for FY 2018. The company paid out a final dividend of $1.07 per share, which brought its full 2018 financial year dividend to $1.67 per share.
Flight Centre has not paid a dividend since the onset of the COVID crisis saw travel grind to a halt in early 2020.
How has the ASX 200 travel share faired recently?
While the Flight Centre share price is well off its all-time highs from August 2018, shares are up 27% over the past 12 months. That compares quite favourably to the 3% loss posted by the ASX 200 since this time last year.
However, some analysts are now cautioning that ASX travel shares look fully valued at current prices under current market conditions.
According to Neil Margolis, lead portfolio manager at Merlon Capital Partners (courtesy of the Australian Financial Review): "While pent-up demand might result in super-profits for travel stocks, most of this is already reflected in the share prices."
