Airlines Slaughtered on Iraq and Oil
ThinkstockU.S. airlines’ stocks are taking a beating Thursday afternoon as investors react to the turmoil in Iraq and the related rise in the price of crude oil. WTI crude for July delivery is trading at around $106 a barrel after…
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U.S. airlines’ stocks are taking a beating Thursday afternoon as investors react to the turmoil in Iraq and the related rise in the price of crude oil. WTI crude for July delivery is trading at around $106 a barrel after peaking earlier today at just over $106.50.
The air carriers’ profits are tied closely to how much they have to pay for fuel, and the sharp increase of nearly 3.5% so far this week has toppled shares today, with all airlines down from about 4% to around 8% in the late afternoon. Here’s the current score:
American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) is down 7.5% at $39.10 in a 52-week range of $15.28 to $44.43.
Delta Air Lines Co. (NYSE: DAL) is down 6% at $92.78 in a 52-week range of $50.31 to $100.98.
JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) is down 5% at $9.90 in a 52-week range of $5.95 to $10.63.
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is down 4.9% at $25.62 in a 52-week range of $12.58 to $27.70.
United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) s down 7% at $42.05 in a 52-week range of $27.32 to $49.20.
All these stocks were trading very near their 52-week highs before today, but the unrest in Iraq has put an end to that.
U.S. airlines had a tough first quarter with thousands of flights cancelled due to severe winter weather. United Continental took the biggest hit, posting a quarterly loss of $609 million of which a third was attributed to weather-related flight cancellations, but every airline was affected. A spike in fuel prices, even this late in the second quarter, will hurt airlines’ results for the current quarter as well.
ALSO READ: What Civil War in Iraq Means for Defense Firms and Oil
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
