Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.32 EPS

Bridger Aerospace Group (NASDAQ:BAER) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by ($0.32), Zacks reports. Bridger Aerospace Group had a negative return on equity of 1.21% and a net margin of 3.37%.

Here are the key takeaways from Bridger Aerospace Group’s conference call:

• Q1 revenue was $8.5M versus $15.6M a year ago, with a $31.3M net loss, adjusted EBITDA of negative $14.5M, and cash declining to $9M after investments in fleet and technology.
• Management reiterated full?year guidance of $135–145M revenue and $55–60M adjusted EBITDA, expects ~29% growth excluding 2025 non?recurring items, and has ~ $90M available on a $100M delayed?draw credit facility.
• The company is expanding higher?margin capabilities — sensor?enhanced aircraft hours nearly doubled in Q1, the Ignis platform launches in Q2 as a potential SaaS offering, and FMS is positioned to capture defense IDIQ work.
• Operational readiness and fleet expansion progressed — early dispatches of multi?mission and air attack aircraft, qualification of additional Super Scooper and initial attack captains, and an $18.6M Alaska exclusive?use contract to bolster peak?season utilization.
• Management sees federal moves to consolidate wildfire programs and worsening fire conditions as demand drivers, but legislative and contracting changes are uncertain and may deliver more benefit over the longer term.

Bridger Aerospace Group Stock Performance

Shares of BAER stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $2.00. The company had a trading volume of 517,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,557. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.12. Bridger Aerospace Group has a one year low of $1.22 and a one year high of $3.44. The firm has a market cap of $111.84 million, a PE ratio of -3.57 and a beta of 0.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bridger Aerospace Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bridger Aerospace Group by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 181,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 42,613 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bridger Aerospace Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 284,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,959 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bridger Aerospace Group by 50.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 332,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 110,788 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Bridger Aerospace Group by 530.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 965,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 811,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Bridger Aerospace Group by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 4,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAER has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Bridger Aerospace Group in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating and a $3.35 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Bridger Aerospace Group from $5.25 to $5.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Bridger Aerospace Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Bridger Aerospace Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Bridger Aerospace Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.18.

Bridger Aerospace Group Company Profile

Bridger Aerospace Group, Inc operates as an aerial services company specializing in wildfire management and aviation support. The company’s core business activities include aerial wildfire suppression, providing rapid-response water and fire-retardant drops from fixed-wing air tankers. In addition to firefighting, Bridger Aerospace offers aviation services such as cloud seeding for weather modification, aerial inspection and mapping, environmental monitoring, and logistics support for remote sites.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Heber City, Utah, Bridger Aerospace Group deploys a fleet of both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft under contract to federal, state and local government agencies as well as commercial customers.