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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 28, 2023 – 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: Delta Air Lines DAL, American Airlines AAL, United Airlines UAL and JetBlue Airways JBLU.
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
Airline Industry Jumps +17.7% in a Month: Here's Why
It is a well-documented fact that expenses on fuel represent a significant input cost for airlines. Therefore, the health of stocks in the Zacks Airline industry is inversely proportional to the movement of oil prices.
Oil prices were moving northward from July mainly due to the extension of production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia through the end of the current year. In fact, oil price surged 28.5% in the July-September period, in turn restricting bottom-line growth of many airline players in the third quarter of 2023.
Due to the northward movement of oil prices, average fuel price per gallon increased 10.3% sequentially at Delta Air Lines. Similarly, the metric increased 11%, 10.3% and 11.8% sequentially at American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways, respectively, in third-quarter 2023. Of the abovementioned stocks, JetBlue currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), while the other three carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), presently. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
However, oil prices have stopped moving northward over the past month and have in fact declined 8.5% in November so far. Factors like an increase in supply, record U.S. oil production and dispute among the OPEC+ group of exporters regarding agreement on any additional production cuts have contributed to the reduction in oil prices.
This southward movement in oil prices is a welcome development for airline stocks. This is reflected in the fact that the Zacks Airline industry has appreciated 17.7% in a month’s time, well above the S&P 500’s 9.4% rise in the same time period.
Record Thanksgiving Traffic: Another Positive
Coupled with the southward oil price movement, the buoyant passenger volumes witnessed during the ongoing Thanksgiving travel period are another positive for airlines that have led to the price surge.
A mind-boggling 30 million passengers are expected to be screened between Nov 17 and Nov 28, a record high, per the Transportation Security Administration. The decline in airfares supports the upbeat traffic projection.