Markets
News
Analysis
User
24/7
Economic Calendar
Education
Data
- Names
- Latest
- Prev
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
A:--
F: --
A:--
F: --
A:--
F: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
A:--
F: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
A:--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
--
F: --
P: --
No matching data
Latest Views
Latest Views
Trending Topics
To quickly learn market dynamics and follow market focuses in 15 min.
In the world of mankind, there will not be a statement without any position, nor a remark without any purpose.
Inflation, exchange rates, and the economy shape the policy decisions of central banks; the attitudes and words of central bank officials also influence the actions of market traders.
Money makes the world go round and currency is a permanent commodity. The forex market is full of surprises and expectations.
Top Columnists
Enjoy exciting activities, right here at FastBull.
The latest breaking news and the global financial events.
I have 5 years of experience in financial analysis, especially in aspects of macro developments and medium and long-term trend judgment. My focus is maily on the developments of the Middle East, emerging markets, coal, wheat and other agricultural products.
BeingTrader chief Trading Coach & Speaker, 8+ years of experience in the forex market trading mainly XAUUSD, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, and Crude Oil. A confident trader and analyst who aims to explore various opportunities and guide investors in the market. As an analyst I am looking to enhance the trader’s experience by supporting them with sufficient data and signals.
Latest Update
Risk Warning on Trading HK Stocks
Despite Hong Kong's robust legal and regulatory framework, its stock market still faces unique risks and challenges, such as currency fluctuations due to the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the US dollar and the impact of mainland China's policy changes and economic conditions on Hong Kong stocks.
HK Stock Trading Fees and Taxation
Trading costs in the Hong Kong stock market include transaction fees, stamp duty, settlement charges, and currency conversion fees for foreign investors. Additionally, taxes may apply based on local regulations.
HK Non-Essential Consumer Goods Industry
The Hong Kong stock market encompasses non-essential consumption sectors like automotive, education, tourism, catering, and apparel. Of the 643 listed companies, 35% are mainland Chinese, making up 65% of the total market capitalization. Thus, it's heavily influenced by the Chinese economy.
HK Real Estate Industry
In recent years, the real estate and construction sector's share in the Hong Kong stock index has notably decreased. Nevertheless, as of 2022, it retains around 10% market share, covering real estate development, construction engineering, investment, and property management.
Hongkong, China
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Dubai, UAE
Lagos, Nigeria
Cairo, Egypt
White Label
Data API
Web Plug-ins
Affiliate Program
View All
No data
Not Logged In
Log in to access more features
FastBull Membership
Not yet
Purchase
Log In
Sign Up
Hongkong, China
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Dubai, UAE
Lagos, Nigeria
Cairo, Egypt
White Label
Data API
Web Plug-ins
Affiliate Program
Delta Air Lines (DAL) closed the most recent trading day at $46.92, moving +0.51% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.29%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.25%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.31%.
Coming into today, shares of the airline had gained 16.35% in the past month. In that same time, the Transportation sector gained 4.32%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.57%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Delta Air Lines in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.53, signifying a 24.63% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $15.54 billion, showing a 0.35% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.07 per share and revenue of $59.59 billion, which would represent changes of -2.88% and +2.65%, respectively, from the prior year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Delta Air Lines. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 1.17% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Delta Air Lines is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
With respect to valuation, Delta Air Lines is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 7.68. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 10.4, which means Delta Air Lines is trading at a discount to the group.
We can also see that DAL currently has a PEG ratio of 0.91. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Transportation - Airline industry stood at 1.07 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 182, placing it within the bottom 29% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
Zacks Investment Research
In the past week, Alaska Air Group ALK gave a bullish outlook for the third quarter of 2024, mainly driven by the strong air-travel demand during summer. Delta Air Lines DAL expects the CrowdStrike CRWD-induced global IT outage on July 19 to hurt its third-quarter 2024 earnings by 45 cents per share.
American Airlines AAL received encouraging tidings on the labor front when the Association of Professional Flight Attendants announced that flight attendants of the airline have ratified a new five-year contract. Alaska Air’s $1.9 billion takeover of Hawaiian Holdings cleared the review of the Department of Transportation or DOT.
Recap of the Recent Most Important Stories
1. Driven by higher revenues during the summer and lower fuel costs, Alaska Air raised its third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share guidance to the range of $2.15-$2.25 compared with the previous guidance of $1.40 to $1.60.
ALK now expects its third-quarter 2024 revenue per available seat mile (a key measure of unit revenues) to be up 2% on a year-over-year basis compared with the previous forecast of flat to positive. ALK now anticipates third-quarter 2024 economic fuel cost per gallon in the range of $2.60-$2.70 (prior view: $2.85-$2.95).
ALK currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
2. The global technology outage on July 19, caused by security software provider CrowdStrike’s software update, hit Delta Air Lines the hardest among the U.S. airlines. Following the faulty software update, DAL’s operations were crippled more than others due to its dependence on Microsoft systems for flight crew scheduling. As a result, approximately 7,000 DAL flights were canceled due to the outage, causing not only revenue loss but harassment to passengers.
Following the outage, DAL is now forecasting revenues to be flat or up no more than 1% for the quarter rather than up 2-4% as originally predicted. Capacity is now expected to increase approximately 4% (earlier guidance was for an increase in the 5-6% range). Non-fuel unit costs are now projected to increase 5.5% year over year (earlier guidance was for an increase in the 1-2% range). Full-year 2024 earnings per share are expected to be at or above the midpoint of the $6-$7 guided range (excluding the 45-cent impact from the IT outage on third-quarter earnings).
3. The ratification of the contract at AAL with flight attendants increased the value of the current agreement by $4.2 billion. With 95% of eligible flight attendants casting their votes, 87% of American Airlines flight attendants voted in favor of the contract, which takes effect from Oct. 1, 2024. American Airlines flight attendants become eligible for wage increases of up to 20.5% and substantial retroactive pay to compensate for the time spent negotiating.
AAL was also in the news recently due to its impending exit from the S&P 500 index. That news was covered in detail in the previous week’s write-up.
4. Alaska Air closed the deal of taking over Hawaiian Airlines after receiving clearance from the DOT. Receipt of clearance removes the final hurdle before the closure of the deal. DOT, however, stated that the airlines must maintain the value of their airline reward systems and preserve several key routes. Following the closure of the deal, Hawaiian Airlines serves as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ALK. Alaska Airhas formed an interim leadership team in Honolulu to oversee Hawaiian Airlines' operations until the two airlines are fully integrated.
Performance
The following table shows the price movement of the major airline players over the past week and during the last six months.
What’s Next in the Airline Space?
Following the closure of Alaska Air’s merger deal with Hawaiian Airlines, investors are waiting for details regarding the integration process. With buoyant air-travel demand, updates on route additions by airlines to match the demand swell cannot be ruled out.
Zacks Investment Research
Shares of Seattle, WA-based airline heavyweight Alaska Air Group (ALK) have had a good time on the bourses of late, improving in double-digits over the past 30 days. The encouraging price performance resulted in ALK outperforming its industry in the said time frame. Moreover, ALK’s price performance compares favorably with that of fellow U.S. airline operators Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) and Delta Air Lines DAL in the same time frame.
One-Month Price Comparison
Currently trading at $41.34, the stock rebounded 34.44% from its 52-week low of $30.75 on Nov. 1, 2023. However, it still reflects a significant 10.42% discount from its 52-week high of $46.15 reached on April 22.
Given the recent rally, the question that naturally arises is whether ALK stock can sustain its bullish price performance or should investors book profits now. Before that, let's delve deep to unearth the reasons behind this northward price movement.
ALK Issues Bullish Q3 View on Upbeat Summer Travel
ALK has raised its third-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance to the range of $2.15-$2.25 from the previously guided range of $1.40 to $1.60. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS is currently pegged at $1.64. Improved revenue and fuel cost outlook have led to the encouraging EPS forecast.
Backed by the upbeat demand, Alaska Air now expects its third-quarter 2024 revenue per available seat mile (a key measure of unit revenues) to be up 2% on a year-over-year basis, an improvement from the previous forecast of flat to positive.
ALK continues to expect third-quarter capacity (measured in available seat miles) to increase in the range of 2-3% on a year-over-year basis.
Declining fuel expenses (owing to the moderating crude oil and West Coast refining margins) mark another major positive. ALK now anticipates third-quarter 2024 economic fuel cost per gallon in the range of $2.60-$2.70 (prior view: $2.85-$2.95). Lower fuel costs should boost the company’s bottom line, as fuel expenses represent a key input cost for any transportation player.
Apart from the air travel demand strength, additional revenues in July related to the CrowdStrike CRWD-induced disruptions across the industry and stronger performance in August and September also contributed to ALK’s top-line growth. The global technology outage on July 19, caused by security software provider CrowdStrike’s software update, has hit some of the major U.S. airlines, leading to multiple flight cancelations. ALK reaped the benefits from the troubles of its competitors’ flight cancelations.
Driven by upbeat air-travel demand, ALK has introduced new routes. ALK has also increased the number of daily flights in its network that fly to popular destinations. The expansion of capacity to meet the demand swell in summer seems to have paid off.
Impressive Valuation Picture for ALK Stock
From a valuation perspective, ALK is trading at a discount compared to the industry, going by its forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio. The reading is also below its median over the last five years. The company has a Value Score of A.
Rising Expenses Weigh on Alaska Air Stock
Escalating operating expenses due to the rise in labor and airport costs are hurting ALK’s bottom line. Expenses on wages and benefits increased 7% during the first half of 2024. Evidently, operating expenses were up 2% during the first half of 2024.
Consolidated operating costs per available seat mile (excluding fuel and special items) rose 4% year over year to 10.67 cents in the first half of 2024.
For third-quarter 2024, consolidated operating costs per available seat mile (excluding fuel and special items) are expected to increase in the high single digits.
Given this headwind surrounding the stock, earnings estimates have been southbound, as shown below.
To Conclude
It is understood that ALK stock is attractively valued, and upbeat air travel demand is contributing to ALK’s top line. However, investors should refrain from rushing to buy ALK now due to the headwinds that it faces.
Instead, they should monitor the company’s developments closely for a more appropriate entry point. For those who already own the stock, it will be prudent to stay invested. The stock’s Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) supports our thesis. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks Investment Research
Hertz Global Holdings trades more than 3% higher in Tuesday morning trading. Up 33% over the past five days, it appears deep value investors are fishing for their next big score.
The car rental company caught my attention because it entered Barchart’s Bottom 100 Stocks to Buy Monday in the 72nd position. With a weighted alpha of -72.34 compared to a 52-week change of -78.91%, the five-day run suggests it might have hit a bottom.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2020. It emerged from Chapter 11 in October 2021. With a market cap of slightly more than $1 billion, its net debt is more than 18 times this amount.
Hertz’s leverage is again out of control, bringing the possibility of Chapter 11 proceedings into play less than three years after emerging from bankruptcy.
From where I sit, it looks ready for the trash can, but the past week’s trading suggests some folks feel otherwise.
Is HTZ a value play or ready to revisit Chapter 11? Here are my thoughts on both.
It’s So Ready for Chapter 11
According to S&P Global Marketplace, Hertz’s Altman Z-score has declined over the past four quarters from 0.89 in Q3 2023 to 0.11 as of Q2 2024.
The Altman Z-score predicts a company's likelihood of going bankrupt within the next 24 months. The calculation was developed by finance professor Edward Altman in 1968 and involves numbers in the income statement and balance sheet. You can find the calculation here.
The Altman Z-score is constantly changing. When profits are higher, the score will move higher. When they don’t exist, as is the case with Hertz—in Q2 2024, it lost $865 million on a GAAP basis; it lost $440 million adjusting for one-time items—it gets worse quarter by quarter.
Any Altman Z-score less than 1.81 (the company’s is less than one-tenth of the minimum criteria) suggests a likelihood of bankruptcy in the next two years.
Google the words “Hertz bankruptcy filing 2024,” and you will get plenty of results.
On Sept. 10, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the company must pay bondholders $270 million in interest from its previous bankruptcy proceedings. Although the bondholders received $2.7 billion from the Chapter 11 proceedings, they should have received another $270 million. This ruling refers to “make whole” payments calculated as if the company's bonds had been repaid in 2021 without the company filing for bankruptcy protection.
“It would be profoundly unfair to scrimp on the [bondholders’] interest when the junior stockholders already received a billion-dollar distribution,” Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro wrote for the 2-1 majority, Reuters reported.
It has nearly $900 million in annualized interest payments and just $573 million in cash as of June 30, down from $2.26 billion at the end of 2021.
It’s hanging on by a thread.
The Value Play
In March, former CEO Stephen Scherr stepped down from the job he'd held since February 2022. Scherr, who jumped into the top job after three decades at Goldman Sachs , doubled down on the EV bet Hertz made after emerging from bankruptcy.
By January 2024, Scherr was forced to sell off a third of its EVs because of poor demand and expensive repairs. Two months later, he was replaced by Gil West, the former COO of General Motors Cruise robotaxi business. Before that, he was COO for Delta Air Lines .
Delta CEO Ed Bastian, one of the best CEOs in the airline industry, had good things to say about West.
“Gil is a fantastic operator. We worked side-by-side for a dozen years,” Bastian said in an interview with Fortune in March. “He’s an innovator, he loves technology, he’s meticulous, he’s curious and he loves a challenge — all great attributes.”
West has since brought in several of his former Delta colleagues to work on the company’s turnaround plan. One of the Delta people, Greg May, is now in charge of fleet management for Hertz, which has struggled in the past with buying and selling vehicles.
“May will have a key role overseeing the buying and selling of rental cars, which is where the company has historically wound up in trouble. He has experience managing aircraft fleets and will now have to work with Hertz veterans in the new and used-car markets,” Bloomberg reported in July.
Barron’s reported comments from Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka that argued it will take the company time to breakeven on a free cash flow basis, which is at least $500 million EBITDA. In the 12 months ended June 30, it was -$577 million.
Hertz managed to secure $1 billion in debt in June. That should give it a little wiggle room while it continues to reconfigure its car fleet away from electric.
I’ve never been a massive fan of rental car businesses because they require an incredible amount of capital to maintain a fleet of vehicles.
However, analysts tend to agree that the demand for rental cars remains healthy, so if West and his executives can figure out how to deliver profits, not losses, over the next year, it portends good times ahead for HTZ stock.
The Bottom Line on Hertz
I wouldn’t characterize Hertz as a value play but rather a contrarian one.
The March 21/2025 $5 call looks attractive if you are an aggressive investor.
With a $0.50 ask (10% down payment), you can double your money with a $1.24 (35%) move over the next six months. In the worst-case scenario, you’re out $50 at expiry next March.
That said, I would not touch Hertz with a 10-foot pole.
On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
White Label
Data API
Web Plug-ins
Poster Maker
Affiliate Program
The risk of loss in trading financial instruments such as stocks, FX, commodities, futures, bonds, ETFs and crypto can be substantial. You may sustain a total loss of the funds that you deposit with your broker. Therefore, you should carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances and financial resources.
No decision to invest should be made without thoroughly conducting due diligence by yourself or consulting with your financial advisors. Our web content might not suit you since we don't know your financial conditions and investment needs. Our financial information might have latency or contain inaccuracy, so you should be fully responsible for any of your trading and investment decisions. The company will not be responsible for your capital loss.
Without getting permission from the website, you are not allowed to copy the website's graphics, texts, or trademarks. Intellectual property rights in the content or data incorporated into this website belong to its providers and exchange merchants.