With so many stocks at ATH's, some of us are looking for plays still not fully recovered from COVID lows. A few Airlines fit that bill and there's been plenty of good news for that sector lately.
*****Vaccines should be widely available come May - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/16/dr-fauci-slightly-delays-timeline-for-widespread-vaccine-availability-in-the-us-to-may-.html I also think the JNJ vaccine is not getting enough credit in the press for it's hospitalization / death prevention #s. I assume this will be approved shortly.
*****CDC is not recommending a Covid-19 test requirement before domestic travel - https://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/cdc-says-no-to-required-covid-testing-before-domestic-flights.html Despite how you or I may feel about this, it certainly would have been a strain for airlines.
\* U.S. House committee approves another $14 billion for airlines - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-airlines/u-s-house-committee-approves-another-14-billion-for-pandemic-hit-airlines-idUSKBN2AC07X
I put together the handy table below to look at the 6 largest US Airlines with market cap of at least 5B.
The goal was to see where they stand today, how they fared last year compared to each other and how close to fully recovered the stock is to pre-pandemic levels.
| MKT Cap | 2020 Loss | EPS | 1-1-20 | Today | % >1-1-20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUV | 30.692B | ($3.1B) | -5.44 | $54.98 | $51.96 | 5.81% |
| DAL | 28.475B | ($12.4B) | -19.49 | $55.74 | $44.65 | 24.84% |
| UAL | 14.254B | ($7.1B) | -25.30 | $74.80 | $45.71 | 63.64% |
| AAL | 11.075B | ($8.9B) | -18.36 | $26.84 | $17.82 | 50.62% |
| ALK | 7.412B | ($1.3B) | -10.59 | $64.59 | $59.94 | 7.76% |
| JBLU | 5.261B | ($1.3B) | -4.91 | $19.83 | $16.73 | 18.53% |
For me right off the bat, I'm a pass on DAL, UAL & AAL given the massive 2020 losses and the hideous EPS. Next, it seems LUV and ALK are already almost fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. This leaves me to to consider JBLU for a potential 20% gain in the next 3-6 months at minimum.
Many of us feel like there is a lot of pent up travel demand. I believe the vast majority of that travel will be domestic and leisure. JBLU has not depended on international travel or business travel nearly as much as some of it's competitors. I think this sets it up well.
Additionally, they have a fairly new partnership with AAL that was approved by DOT last month despite pressure by United to halt it. - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-airlines-aal-jetblue-partnership-173205155.html
Finally, they have a loyal customer base (as does LUV) and were just voted No. 1 in Economy Class, No. 1 in Inflight Entertainment, No. 2 in Business and First Class (for Mint), and No. 2 airline overall. - https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/
Let me know your thoughts and GLTA!
Submitted February 16, 2021 at 07:48PM by DontForgetTheDivy https://ift.tt/3u480TS
