FeedPosted Nov 10th 2009 4:15PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Southwest Airlines (LUV), US Airways Group (LCC), UAL Corp (UAUA), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Delta Air Lines (DAL)
For years, it's been evident that smaller airlines have had an operating advantage, particularly when they use less expensive airports. They've been able to post better numbers as a result, and in the current travel slump, they've outperformed the larger carriers. Well, they've also picked up a considerable amount of market share.
According to a report by USA Today, low cost carriers now have 30% of the market in the United States. Price-sensitive consumers are turning to cheaper alternatives, even if it means (for fliers with elite status) giving up the perks they've earned through years of customer loyalty.
Continue reading Low cost carriers own 30% of domestic airline biz, growing fast
Posted Oct 19th 2009 12:50PM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Estee Lauder (EL), Caterpillar (CAT), Halliburton (HAL), American Express (AXP), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Analyst initiations, Deere and Co (DE), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL)
Analyst upgrades:
- American Express (NYSE:AXP) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at FBR Capital, as the firm sees limited near-term downside in the stock. The firm raised its target price on the shares to $37 from $25.
- RBC Capital upgraded Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) to Outperform from Sector Perform. Target to $44 from $34. UBS upgraded Nestle on expectations the company will begin returning cash to shareholders via buybacks and dividends.
- Piper Jaffray raised Dicks Sporting (NYSE:DKS) to Neutral from Underweight following positive channel checks and raised its target on the shares to $28 from $18.
- Sohu.com (NASDAQ:SOHU) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell by Pali Capital.
- Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was raised to Buy from Hold by Natixis.
- Sunpower (NASDAQ:SPWRA) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie.
- China Automotive (NASDAQ:CAAS) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merriman.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AXP, HAL, EL, MAT, CAT....
Posted Sep 17th 2009 5:00PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Southwest Airlines (LUV), AMR Corp (AMR), UAL Corp (UAUA), Delta Air Lines (DAL)
United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAUA), US Airways (NYSE: LCC) and American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), according to an influential analyst, have run out of options. Jamie Baker of JPMorgan said in a July 20, 2009 report that these companies couldn't do anything to prevent a cash crisis. They only savior available to them would have to be an outside investor. To call the position grim would be optimistic. Unfortunately, it couldn't have come at a worse time.
As Baker was walking the bear into the airline industry, United was starting to celebrate its change in direction. The carrier has improved its on-time rate, according to a USA Today report, and its operations are coming around. Despite the fact that the airline industry has been brutalized by the global recession, the airline has made some progress. Through August, the company's share price doubled, and its ascent has continued in September. So, the company is locked in an ongoing struggle to manage its identity, cope with its past and shape how the world sees it today.
The operational "makeover" has resulted in a reduction of its fleet from 601 jets in 2000 to 386 as of the summer of 2009. In terms of passenger traffic, it's in the #4 spot in the United States – trailing Delta (NYSE: DAL), Southwest (NYSE: LUV) and American. With Q2 revenues off 25.2% year-over-year, however, drastic measures are still necessary.
Continue reading United's battle over its identity
Posted Sep 6th 2009 3:10PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Southwest Airlines (LUV), US Airways Group (LCC), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Delta Air Lines (DAL)
August brought more misery to the airline industry in the United States. Seven of the country's nine largest carriers saw traffic drop, with only Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) and JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ: JBLU) bucking the trend. The continued upward climb of unemployment, tighter corporate budgets and sluggish demand for leisure travel has resulted in fewer passengers in seats.
JetBue was the only carrier not to report a drop in available seat miles (ASMs), the primary measure of airline productivity. Load factors, however, which indicate how full a plane is, tended to be higher, largely a result of flights that have been cut in an effort to reduce costs.
Continue reading August a sluggish month for U.S. airlines
Posted Jul 30th 2009 11:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Southwest Airlines (LUV), AMR Corp (AMR), JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Delta Air Lines (DAL)
There may be new hope for the perpetually ailing airline industry. While I wouldn't expect these companies to become top performers anytime soon, it looks like the best revenue stream is the one nobody's been talking about: change and cancellation fees.
These penalties, which can reach up to $150, bring $2 billion in revenue into the industry annually. According to the Department of Transportation, they were good for $527.6 million in the first quarter -- in the United States alone. This is 3.2% of U.S. airline revenue.
American Airlines parent AMR (NYSE: AMR) raked in $116 million in revenue from these penalties in the first quarter of 2009 -- compared to $108 million from the more highly publicized extra bag fees. For JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU), the numbers are smaller (JetBlue, of course, isn't as big as AMR) but no less compelling. By pumping its change and cancellation fee from $100 to $150, the airline scored $32.2 million in Q1 2009, up from $25 million in Q1 2008.
Continue reading Could cancellation fees save the airlines?
Posted Jul 17th 2009 1:00PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Southwest Airlines (LUV), Options
Late Thursday, Moody's Investors Service announced that it might downgrade its credit ratings for Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV). In a statement, the ratings agency said the airline's Baa1 senior unsecured rating is at risk, due to the likelihood of weak demand trends persisting into 2010.
The downgrade warning comes shortly after LUV slashed airfares dramatically to remain competitive, with some one-way flights running as low as $30 during a recent promotion. "Even with the benefits of Southwest's advantageous cost structure, the current yield environment is likely to challenge Southwest to restore credit metrics to levels supportive of the current rating," said Moody's in a statement.
In addition to the fundamental concerns cited by Moody's, LUV is also facing some challenges on the charts. The stock has shed 52.8% during the past 52 weeks, and long-term resistance from its 10-month moving average looms directly overhead. This trendline hasn't been toppled on a monthly closing basis since September 2008.
Continue reading Southwest Airlines warned of possible Moody's downgrade
Posted Jul 2nd 2009 9:50AM by Laurie Pasternack (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Contl Airlines'B' (CAL), Analyst initiations, Johnson Controls (JCI), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Delta Air Lines (DAL)
Analyst upgrades:
- Citigroup upgraded Adtran (NASDAQ: ADTN) to Buy from Hold on expectations the company will benefit from the broadband Stimulus funds.
- Morgan Stanley upgraded Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) to Overweight from Equal Weight based on relative valuation and views the company as a "survivor." Additionally, the analyst lowered 2009 industry estimates but believes it is the last cut for the year and is incrementally more positive on the sector.
- Morgan Stanley also upgraded EXFO Electro-Optical (NASDAQ: EXFO) to Overweight from Market Weight based on valuation.
- Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
- Ascent Solar (NASDAQ: ASTI) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.
- Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ADTN, CAL, EXFO, JCI, LUV, VAR, CSCO, KMT, EZCH
Posted Apr 16th 2009 4:20PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Starbucks (SBUX), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Regions Financial (RF), Southwest Airlines (LUV)

The sages say to sell the news and have started calling the market grossly overbought on the near-term, yet stock enthusiasm is at the exact opposite of how negative things were 6 weeks ago. We have 6 million on the jobless claims now, although this week showed a real
decline in new claims. The rally came on late in the day after the market was down triple-digits at one point. Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 8,125.43 +95.81 (1.19%)
S&P 500 865.29 +13.23 (1.55%)
Nasdaq 1,670.44 +43.64 (2.68%)
Top Analyst CallsContinue reading Closing Bell: An IPO, Banks & Tech, all killing the bears (JPM, RST, SBUX, LUV, RF)
Posted Apr 15th 2009 5:40PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Southwest Airlines (LUV)
After American Airlines parent AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported surprising first-quarter results today, eyes turn next to rival Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), which is scheduled to discuss its first-quarter results tomorrow, April 16, in a conference call at 11:30 AM ET with CEO Gary Kelly and CFO Laura Wright. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.
For the quarter that saw Southwest declare its 130th consecutive quarterly dividend and named by Fortune magazine as one of the most admired companies in the world, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the Dallas-based airline to report a loss of $0.01 per share, compared to a profit of $0.06 cents per share in the same period of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $2.4 billion, 5.1% lower than a year ago. Southwest's earnings have beat estimates in the past five quarters, by as much as a nickel a share.
Continue reading Earnings preview: Southwest Airlines to report Q1 in the red?
Posted Mar 2nd 2009 11:00AM by Beth Gaston Moon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, Employees, Southwest Airlines (LUV)

Late Friday night, Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:
LUV) reached a
tentative agreement with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 555, which represents 7,780 ground workers, including those employed in operations, on ramps, as well as freight workers. The deal comes after more than 13 months of negotiations.
The tentative deal, which has yet to be voted on by all TWU members, would run for three years, through June 30, 2011 (the current contract opened for changes on June 30 of last year).
Continue reading Southwest Airlines (LUV) reaches tentative contract with union
Posted Jan 24th 2009 2:40PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), eBay (EBAY), International Business Machines (IBM), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Lockheed Martin (LMT), AMR Corp (AMR), UAL Corp (UAUA)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: eBay, Google, IBM, Southwest, UAL, AMR, Northern Trust and others
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