The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights:JetBlue Airways, United Continental Holdings, Southwest Airlines, GOL LinhasAereas, Copa Holdings, Hawaiian Holdings and Spirit Airlines
CHICAGO, June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the JetBlue Airways Corp. (Nasdaq:JBLU-Free Report), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL-Free Report), Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV-Free Report), GOL LinhasAereas SA (NYSE:GOL-Free Report), Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA-Free Report), Hawaiian Holdings, Inc (Nasdaq:HA-Free Report) and Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Nasdaq:SAVE-Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:
Airline Stock Roundup: JetBlue, Southwest and GOL in Headlines
With the Iraq turmoil on the verge and crude oil prices showing signs of volatility, most of the airline stocks tumbled over the last five trading days. However, the current bearish trend in the airline industry does not come as a surprise element given the perpetual inversely proportionate relation between crude prices and airline stocks.
The past week's events mostly involved the release of traffic results of some of the major airlines. Further, JetBlue Airways Corp.'s (Nasdaq:JBLU-Free Report) divesture of LiveTV also remained in the limelight.
Recap of Last Week's Most Important Stories
1. United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL-Free Report) reported May 2014 traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles or RPMs) results, which increased 1.2% year over year to 18.16 billion. Growth in Latin American traffic offset the decline in the regional division.Consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) for the month was 21.29 billion, up a mere 0.2% from May 2013. (Read More:United Continental Slips on Nominal May Traffic Rise )
2. Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV-Free Report) posted a nominal rise in traffic for May 2014. The month's traffic – measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs) – came in at 9.40 billion, up 0.6% from 9.35 billion recorded in the comparable period a year ago. (Read More: Southwest Airlines Posts Slight Rise in May Traffic)
3. JetBlue Airwaysannounced the divesture of its in-flight entertainment subsidiary LiveTV to French defence electronics company, Thales Group for a cash consideration of $399 million. LiveTV was an integral part of JetBlue's popular on-board experience as it allowed passengers to watch television 30,000 feet above the ground. (Read More : JetBlue Divests LiveTV Unit to Thales Group)
In the same week, JetBlue also reported strong traffic growth in the month of May. The carrier reported airline traffic of 3.20 million, up 7.0% year over year.
4. Last week, GOL LinhasAereas SA (NYSE:GOL-Free Report) posted solid traffic results for May 2014. Revenue passenger kilometers or RPK – implying revenue generated per kilometer per passenger – for the month increased 6.4% from the year-ago month to 2,913.6 million. Both domestic and international RPK showed an improvement of 4.6% and 23.1%, respectively. (Read More: GOL Impresses with Traffic Rise of 6.4% in May)
5. Another impressive traffic report from the past week was that of Copa Holdings, S.A. (NYSE:CPA-Free Report). The company's traffic for the month of May increased 12.6% year over year while capacity increased 8.9%. Load factor also remained positive at 77.9%, representing a growth of 260 basis points.
Performance
The following table shows the price movement of the major Airline players over the past 5 trading days and during the last 6 months:
| Company |
Last 5 Days |
Last 6 Months |
| AAL |
-0.99% |
60.42% |
| ALK |
-1.96% |
35.09% |
| CPA |
0.48% |
-9.56% |
| DAL |
-3.00% |
47.13% |
| GOL |
-7.00% |
39.19% |
| HA |
-7.37% |
59.34% |
| JBLU |
0.96% |
24.03% |
| LUV |
-1.15% |
45.92% |
| SAVE |
1.55% |
45.41% |
| UAL |
-2.96% |
17.72% |
Over the trailing 5 trading sessions, most of the airline stocks exhibited price decline.
Biggest losers over the period were Hawaiian Holdings, Inc (Nasdaq:HA-Free Report), GOL Linhas and Delta Air Lines with stock prices declining 7.4%, 7% and 3%, respectively. However, few of the stocks that showed marginal gains include Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Nasdaq:SAVE-Free Report) and JetBlue Airways,which were up 1.6% and 1%, respectively.
In terms of performance over the past 6 months, most of the stocks have fared reasonably well with the exception of Copa Holdings, which has dropped 9.6% over the period. The biggest gainers in the 6-month span were American Airlines Group Inc. and Hawaiian Holdings, sporting growth of 60% and 59%, respectively.
What's Next in the Airline Biz?
As crude oil heads $107, it is more likely we would see further price volatility in airline stocks. In addition, intensifying violence in Iraq and attack on its largest refinery, Beiji, is only making it more difficult for the U.S. market to adjust supplies with the dwindling energy infrastructure in one of the major oil producing countries of the world.
The current week would also record some major events such as the Fed data and information on U.S.supplies, which are likely to determine the price trends in the coming days.
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
About Zacks Equity Research
Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.
Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.
Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.
Get the full Report on JBLU - FREE
Get the full Report on UAL - FREE
Get the full Report on LUV - FREE
Get the full Report on GOL - FREE
Get the full Report on CPA - FREE
Get the full Report on HA - FREE
Get the full Report on SAVE - FREE
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO
SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.
Share this article