Airlines Hit New Highs, Driven by Earnings and Oil
In Thursday's trading, all the major airlines hit new 52-week highs following positive earnings reports from United Continental and Southwest Airlines.
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Falling oil prices over the past seven months have negatively impacted some industries. However, one big winner from lower crude prices has been the airlines. The lower cost oil yields a lower cost to fuel the jets, which in turn broadens the margins of the major airlines. In Thursday’s trading, all the major airlines hit new 52-week highs following positive earnings reports from United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) and Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV).
United reported its fourth-quarter earnings at $1.20 per share on $9.3 billion in revenues, against Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $1.22 in earnings per share and $9.31 billion in revenue. The same period last year had $0.78 in earnings per share and $9.33 billion in revenue. Shares were up 4% at $72.08 in the second half of the trading day. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $82.26 and a 52-week trading range of $36.65 to $73.19.
Southwest reported its fourth-quarter financials as $0.59 in earnings per share and $4.63 billion in revenues. That was against consensus estimates of $0.55 in earnings per share and $4.59 billion in revenue. The fourth quarter from the previous year had $0.33 in earnings per share and $4.43 in revenue. Shares were up 8% at $45.04. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $51.31 and a 52-week trading range of $20.22 to $45.17.
American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) saw its shares rise 3% to $55.19. It has a consensus analyst price target of $69.91 and a 52-week trading range of $28.10 to $55.30. American Airlines will report earnings on January 27.
Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) saw its share price increase 2% to $50.17. Its consensus price target is $63.63, and the 52-week trading range is $29.12 to $50.24. Delta reported its earnings earlier this week.
JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) saw its stock rise 6% to $16.24. The consensus price target is $18.63. The 52-week trading range is $7.61 to $16.21. JetBlue plans to report its earnings on January 29.
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Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics. Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications. A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.
