Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares are up 1.93% in intraday trading today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel company are currently changing hands for $18.45 apiece.
That's up more than 28% so far in 2023.
But according to analysts at Macquarie (courtesy of The Australian), there look to be more gains ahead for the company.
Macquarie has raised Flight Centre to 'outperform'. Its analysts have a price target of $20.75 for the stock, 12.5% above the current price.
What else is going on with the ASX 200 travel stock?
This morning, Flight Centre reported that it has completed the acquisition of United Kingdom-based luxury leisure travel business Scott Dunn.
As The Motley Fool reported last Wednesday, 1 February, Flight Centre emerged from a trading halt after the company completed a $180 million share placement to fund the acquisition.
Flight Centre shares closed up 8.1% on the day and have finished in the green every trading day since.
"High-net-worth, time poor customers highly value the services of Scott Dunn as shown by their customers' loyalty," Flight Centre CEO Graham Turner said last week.
The total acquisition cost for Scott Dunn was reported to be $211 million. Atop the $180 million raised from the oversubscribed institutional share placement (issued at a sharp discount of $14.60 per share), Flight Centre will splash out an additional $40 million in cash for the UK travel business.
Eligible shareholders will have the opportunity to apply for up to $30,000 worth of Flight Centre shares at the same discount under a $40 million share purchase plan (SPP).
The SPP opens tomorrow and closes on 6 March.
How have Flight Centre shares been performing longer-term?
Flight Centre has had a strong start to 2023, but not strong enough to put the company in the green over 12 months. As you can see in the chart below, since this time last year, its shares are down 8.8%.
