For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 19, 2015 – 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 American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL-Free Report), Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY-Free Report), JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU-Free Report), Delta Airlines (DAL-Free Report) and United Continental Holdings (UAL-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
It was a week which saw a new member from the airline space making its way into the coveted SP 500 index – American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL-Free Report). The carrier is set to join the much sought-after list from Mar 20 (after market close), replacing Allergan, which has been acquired by Actavis.
European low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY-Free Report) also grabbed headlines during the week with its board approving plans to connect destinations between the U.S. and Europe at amazingly low fares. However, the transatlantic service is unlikely to commence before another four/five years.
Low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU-Free Report) was also in the news for a bilateral codeshare agreement inked with privately held Silver Airways. JetBlue also announced healthy traffic data for the month of February. Important metrics such as revenue passenger miles (RPMs – a measure of air traffic), available seat miles (measure of capacity) and load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) grew on a year-over-year basis during the month.
On the price front, most airline stocks gained over the past 5 trading days, benefiting from plummeting oil prices. As a result, the NYSE ARCA Airline index climbed 5% over the said period.
(Read the last ‘Airline Stock Roundup’ here: Delta-Led Consortium Complains, Republic Airways Included in SP 600)
Recap of the Most Important Stories Over the Past Week
1. JetBlue Airways inked a codeshare agreement with Florida-based Silver Airways with the aim to improve customer convenience. The current deal extends the Dec 2013 ticketing partnership signed by the two companies (read more: JetBlue, Silver Airways Ink Codeshare Pact; Strengthen Ties).
Furthermore, JetBlue Airways’ Feb 2015 air traffic was up 10% year over year to 2.9 billion. Capacity improved 7.4% to 3.47 billion and load factor increased to 83.5% from 81.6% in Feb 2014 (read more: JetBlue’s February Traffic Rises on Favorable Factors).
2. American Airlines Group, formed following the Dec 2013 merger of AMR (American Airlines’ parent group) and US Airways, is set to join the SP 500 after market close on Mar 20. The carrier has been added to the SP 500 GICS “Industrials” sector or Airlines Sub-Industry index (read more: American Airlines Group to Enter Coveted SP 500).
3. According to media reports, the board of Ryanair has approved the carrier’s plans to connect destinations across the U.S. and Europe. Approval has been gained to operate to and from around 14 European cities and almost an equivalent number of American cities. Ticket prices have been kept unbelievably low with one-way tickets between US and Europe costing approximately $15 (promotional offer) according to a report at investors.com.
The services, however, are not commencing immediately. It will take another four to five years as Ryanair needs to bolster its fleet before entering the lucrative transatlantic market. In the event of Ryanair entering the U.S. market, competition would intensify for domestic carriers that already face the threat of market share reduction from Gulf carriers.
4. According to a report appearing in the Reuters, the dispute between US carriers and their Gulf counterparts took a fresh turn with the U.S. government asking Delta Airlines (DAL-Free Report), United Continental Holdings (UAL-Free Report) and American Airlines Group to furnish more information to support their claim of massive subsidies enjoyed by certain Gulf carriers.
The U.S. carriers, in a complaint to the Obama administration, had alleged that massive government subsidies have allowed Gulf carriers like Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates to expand their fleet and international operations substantially, in turn, eating into their market share. According to the report, the Obama administration has put forward approximately 20 questions to representatives of the U.S. carriers based on their allegations.
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 AAL – FREE
Get the full Report on RYAAY – FREE
Get the full Report on JBLU – FREE
Get the full Report on DAL – FREE
Get the full Report on UAL – FREE
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: https://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
support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
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 SP 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.