Flight Centre shares drop 18% this year: Buy, sell or hold?

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares are trading in the green in Tuesday lunchtime trade. At the time of writing, the Australian travel agency’s shares are 0.074% higher at $13.60 a piece. 

The shares have had a great run over the past month, climbing 18.67% after the company released a trading update in early November. In its presentation, Flight Centre’s Managing Director, Graham Turner, revealed that the company is off to a positive start for FY26. He said that first-quarter results and preliminary October trading data confirmed momentum across both corporate and leisure segments.

He added that the company’s Leisure segment isn’t out of the woods just yet, but the company thinks there are positive signs that the recovery is coming. 

Flight Centre also said it is targeting an underlying profit before tax of $305 million to $340 million in FY26. This represents a 5.5% to 17.6% increase on the prior corresponding period. Although the majority of this increase is expected in the second half of FY26. The travel group is expected to post flat H1 FY26 profit due to “cyclical challenges”.

Over the past year, Flight Centre shares have fallen 18.5%.

Buy, sell or hold Flight Centre shares?

I think that the current share price dip presents a great opportunity for investors to buy into the stock ahead of a potential price surge. The shares are currently trading around a five-year low and I think the chance that the share price could return to Flight Centre’s all-time high of $61.09 in 2018 at some point in the future isn’t completely off the table.

Analysts are mostly optimistic about the stock, too. Data shows that out of 14 analysts, 11 currently have a buy or strong buy rating on Flight Centre shares. The maximum target price is $18.26, which implies that the share could rocket 33.97% higher over the next 12 months, according to the share price at the time of writing.

Macquarie recently confirmed its outperform rating on the shares and raised its target price to $16.85. At the time of writing, this represents a potential 23.9% upside over the next 12 months. The broker said that the company is performing well and that it is confident Flight Centre corporate will deliver strong revenue growth through FY26 with improving margins as operational and cost initiatives come through.

The analysts at Jarden are more bullish on Flight Centre shares. In a note to investors, the team said it sees green shoots of recovery for the travel company. Jarden has a buy rating and $18 price target on the shares, which implies a potential 32.4% upside ahead.

The post Flight Centre shares drop 18% this year: Buy, sell or hold? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.