Synopsis: As a result of the terms of its bankruptcy and the proposed merger with U.S. Airways (LCC), an equity investment in AMR Corp (AAMRQ.PK) is equivalent to a series of derivatives on LCC. At current market values, AAMRQ is undervalued by approximately 40%. It is possible to create an arbitrage position that should capture this pricing differential over the next 6 months.
Background: LCC and AAMRQ have agreed to terms of a merger. The merger was approved by LCC shareholders on July 12. The merger is expected to be completed during the 3rd quarter. The primary remaining obstacle to the completion of the merger is the confirmation of the bankruptcy Plan of Reorganization (Plan). The confirmation hearing is scheduled for August 15. Under the terms of the Plan, the merged entity, American Airlines Group (AAG), will be owned by the existing LCC shareholders and the stakeholders of AMR. Specifically, existing LCC shareholders will exchange their LCC shares for a 28% ownership interest in AAG. AMR stakeholders will receive the remaining 72% ownership in AAG in exchange for their claims and equity interests in AMR Corp.
Top Growth Companies To Invest In Right Now: Energie Holdings Inc (ELED)
Energie Holdings Inc, formerly Alas Aviation Corporation, incorporated on June 10, 2013, is in the process of acquiring, assembling and operating passenger airlines, air cargo and related ground service operators. The Company's business model includes purchasing low-scale regional operators then assembles and integrates them as subsidiaries. Corporacion Ygnus Air, S.A. (Cygnus) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. It is engaged in acquisition discussions with several operators throughout Europe and around the world.
Cygnus is an aeronautical company is an integrated provider of air cargo transportation specializing in medium and long-range cargo routes. Cygnus operates a fleet of two Boeing 757-200PCF cargo jets to Europe and Africa. Cygnus has managed multi-plane operations, carrying both freight and passengers throughout Spain, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Graham]
Small cap stocks Wi-Fi Wireless Inc (OTCMKTS: WFWL), Energie Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS: ELED) and Trend Exploration, Inc (OTCMKTS: TRDX) surged 47.06%, 25% and 12.50%, respectively, last Friday. However, none of these small cap stocks appear to be the subject of paid promotions or investor relations activities ��something that could be a good thing for investors who are not traders. Keeping that in mind, are these three small cap stocks going to be winners over the long term? Here is a closer look to help you decide on an investing or trading strategy:
Top 5 Airline Companies To Invest In 2014: Allegiant Travel Co (ALGT)
Allegiant Travel Company, incorporated on April 4, 2006, is a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of small, underserved cities in the United States. The Company operates a passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in small cities, allowing it to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, it provides air transportation under fixed fee flying arrangements. The Company provides scheduled air transportation on limited frequency nonstop flights between small city markets and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2013, its operating fleet consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft providing service on 191 routes to 85 cities including 13 leisure destinations and 72 small cities and including cities served seasonally. In January 2012, the Company took ownership of two MD-80 aircraft. In October 2012, the Company announced the formation of Allegiant Systems, a joint venture with AvIntel and Lixar IT.
The Company provides unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include use of its Website for purchases, use of its call center for purchases, advance seat assignment, baggage fees, priority boarding, its own travel protection product, change fees, food and beverage purchases on board and other air-related services. The Company offers third party travel products, such as hotel rooms, ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) and attractions (show tickets) bundled with the purchase of its air transportation.
The Company provides air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a seasonal and ad-hoc basis for other customers. As of February 1, 2013, its operating aircraft consisted of 58 MD-80 aircraft and six Boeing 757-200 aircraft. D! uring the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has entered into purchase agreements to acquire seven Airbus A320 aircraft and operating lease agreements for an additional nine Airbus A319 aircraft.
The Company competes with AirTran, Frontier, Spirit, Southwest, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Delta, Xtra, United and American.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Adam Levine-Weinberg]
Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ: ALGT ) has become one of the most successful airlines in the U.S. (albeit not a very well-known one) by attacking a distinct niche: leisure travelers going from small cities to warm weather destinations. Focusing on markets where it does not face any competition has helped Allegiant generate margin performance near the top of the airline industry for the last several years.
Top 5 Airline Companies To Invest In 2014: AMR Corp (AAMRQ)
AMR Corporation (AMR), incorporated in October 1982, operates in the airline industry. The Company�� principal subsidiary is American Airlines, Inc. (American). As of December 31, 2011, American provided scheduled jet service to approximately 160 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. AMR Eagle Holding Corporation (AMR Eagle), a wholly owned subsidiary of AMR, owns two regional airlines, which do business as American Eagle - American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines, Inc. (collectively, the American Eagle carriers). American also contracts with an independently owned regional airline, which does business as AmericanConnection (the AmericanConnection carrier). As of December 31, 2011, AMR Eagle operated approximately 1,500 daily departures, offering scheduled passenger service to over 175 destinations in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
American, AMR Eagle and the AmericanConnection airline served more than 250 cities in approximately 50 countries with, on average, 3,400 daily flights and the combined network fleet numbered approximately 900 aircraft as of December 31, 2011. American Airlines is also a founding member of the oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, LAN Airlines, Iberia, Qantas, JAL, Malev Hungarian, Mexicana, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. Together, oneworld members serve 750 destinations in approximately 150 countries, with about 8,500 daily departures. American is also one of the scheduled air freight carriers in the world, providing a range of freight and mail services to shippers throughout its system onboard American�� passenger fleet.
To improve access to each other�� markets, American has established marketing relationships with other airlines and rail companies. As of December 31, 2011, American had marketing relationships with Air Berlin, Air Pacific, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cape Air, Cathay Pacific, China Eastern Airl! ines, Dragonair, Deutsche Bahn German Rail, EL AL, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, GOL, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jet Airways, JetStar Airways, LAN (includes LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru), Niki Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.
American has established the AAdvantage frequent flyer program (AAdvantage). AAdvantage members earn mileage credits by flying on American, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection carrier or by using services of other participants in the AAdvantage program. Mileage credits can be redeemed for free, discounted or upgraded travel on American, American Eagle or other participating airlines, or for other awards. American sells mileage credits and related services to other participants in the AAdvantage program. There are over 1,000 program participants, including a credit card issuer, hotels, car rental companies, and other products and services companies in the AAdvantage program. As of December 31, 2011, AAdvantage had approximately 69 million total members.
The Company competes with Alaska Airlines (Alaska), Delta Air Lines (Delta), Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways (JetBlue), Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines (Southwest) and AirTran Airways (Air Tran), Spirit Airlines, United Airlines (United) and Continental Airlines (Continental), US Airways and Virgin America Airlines.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
What a wild ride it’s been for AMR Corp. (AAMRQ) shareholders. The parent of American Airlines lost 45% on the day when the DoJ said it would try to block its merger with US Airways (LCC). Then it started rising as support for the deal grew and analysts predicted as much as a 75% chance that the AMR Corp. and US Airways merger would go through.
Associated PressCall it 99%. Today the DoJ announced that it would approve the merger, although the combined airline would have to give up some gates at certain airports to promote competition.
Cowen’s Helane Becker and Conor Cunningham call it “the merger than never should been blocked.” They write:
Despite the divestitures, the companies maintained their synergy target of $1 Bn annually by 2015. We believe the company will achieve 25% to 35% of their target in 2014. We have always been skeptical of airline synergy targets but believe the company has significant earnings potential when a single operating certificate is achieved…
We view the settlement as positive for both the group and more importantly US Airways. The $1.0 billion synergy target is unchanged from prior guidance, despite slot divestitures at Washington National Airport and New York LaGuardia Airport, as well as gates at Boston Logan, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas Love Field, Los Angeles International and Miami
International. We would be a buyer of US Airways on any weakness as momentum traders will probably look to sell despite having a positive outlook on profitability going forward.S&P Capital IQ’s Jim Corridore reiterated his Strong Buy on US Airways:
The Department of Justice has issued a press release outlining terms of an agreed upon settlement that will allow the merger to go through. LCC will give up 104 slots at Reagan not reserved for smaller planes, 34 slots at LaGuardia, and gates and facilities at various other airports throughout the U.S. We think the
- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
On Wednesday, a federal judge cleared the way for�American Airlines parent�AMR�(AAMRQ) to exit bankruptcy, which hastens the merger of American Air and�U.S. Airways Group�(LCC). Shares of AMR are down nearly 1% this morning, while U.S. Air stock dropped nearly 2%.�The merged airline would be up against United Continental Holdings (UAL) and Delta Air Lines (DAL), which merged with Northwest. Shares of each are down 1%.
Top 5 Airline Companies To Invest In 2014: Southwest Airlines Co (LUV)
Southwest Airlines Co., incorporated on March 9, 1967, operates Southwest Airlines, a passenger airline, which provides scheduled air transportation in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was serving 72 cities in 37 states throughout the United States. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company added addition services in two new states and three new cities: Charleston, South Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Newark, New Jersey. Southwest provides point-to-point. On May 2, 2011, the Company acquired AirTran Holdings, Inc. (AirTran).
AirTran�� route system provides hub-and-spoke, rather than point-to-point, service, with approximately half of AirTran�� flights originating or terminating at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia. AirTran also serves a range of markets with non-stop service from bases of operation in Baltimore, Maryland; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Orlando, Florida. As of December 31, 2011, AirTran was serving 68 United States and near-international destinations, including San Juan, Puerto Rico; Cancun, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Nassau, The Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Bermuda. As of January 31, 2012, AirTran served 65 destinations. During 2011, approximately 71% of Southwest�� customers flew non-stop, and Southwest�� average aircraft trip stage length was 664 miles with an average duration of approximately 1.8 hours.
As of December 31, 2011, Southwest offered 25 weekday roundtrips from Dallas Love Field to Houston Hobby, 13 weekday roundtrips from Phoenix to Las Vegas, 13 weekday roundtrips from Burbank to Oakland, and 12 weekday roundtrips from Los Angeles International to Oakland. Southwest offers connecting service opportunities from over 60 Southwest cities to different Volaris airports in Mexico including Aguascalientes, Guadalajara, Mexico City (MEX), Mexico City-Toluca (TLC), Morelia, and Zacatecas. The Company�� International Connect portal conducts two separate transac! tions: one with Southwest�� reservation system and one with Volaris�� reservation system.
Southwest bundles fares into three categories: Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select. Wanna Get Away fares are lowest fares. Business Select fares are refundable and changeable, and funds may be applied toward future travel on Southwest. Business Select fares also include additional perks, such as priority boarding, a frequent flyer point multiplier, priority security and ticket counter access in select airports, and one complimentary adult beverage coupon for the day of travel. The Company�� Internet Website, southwest.com, is the avenue for Southwest Customers to purchase tickets online. During 2011, southwest.com accounted for approximately 78% of all Southwest bookings. During 2011, approximately 84% of Southwest�� Passenger revenues came through its Website, including revenues from SWABIZ, the Company�� business travel reservation Web page.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Shares of United Continental have gained 0.4% to $44.53 at 3:11 p.m., while Delta Air Lines has risen 1.5% to $33.21, American Airlines has advanced 0.9% to $36.45 and Southwest Airlines (LUV) is up 0.8% at $23.36. The S&P 500 has dropped 0.6%.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
Southwest Airlines (LUV) has gained 28% this year. Delta Air Lines (DAL) has risen 35%. American Airlines (AAL) has advanced 44%. And United Continental (UAL)? It’s gained just 7.1% in 2014.
Clearly, the market thinks something is wrong with United Continental. Wolfe Research’s Hunter Keay and Jared Shojaian explain what that might be:
We believe [United Continental] has a structural deficiency relative to peers. We believe this deficiency is partly a result of a network that is too large and uses planes that are not optimized for the routes they serve. We believe in order to fix this problem there must be a willingness to forego revenues in order to save costs. We believe bad IT and poor customer service metrics exacerbated the problem, but good IT and better customer service can�� completely fix it. We believe planes need to be put down without replacement, we believe the associated headcount must be evaluated, and we believe a hard and honest evaluation of the value of the current network will yield a difficult conclusion: fewer planes, fewer cities served, and less revenue might result in lower costs and higher profits. We believe current�[United Continental] management will get there.
Just how big a problem is United Continental’s size? Consider: United Continental flies 1,623 different route combinations, 58% more than Delta Air Lines and 65% more than American Airlines, Keay and�Shojaian say. United also serves 471 airports, versus just 340 for American Airlines and 342 for Delta Airlines.
Shares of United Continental have dropped 0.8% to $40.58 at 2:33 p.m., while Southwest Airlines has fallen 0.9% to $24.12, Delta Air Lines gas gained 0.2% to $37.17 and American Airlines has ticked up 0.1% at $36.41.
- [By Jon C. Ogg]
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) has also been on fire. Its stock just hit a multi-year high of $18.80. At $18.65, its 52-week range is $9.16 to $18.80. Thomson Reuters has a consensus price target of almost $18.60. Southwest is now worth $13 billion in its market cap. The median price target is barely higher at $19.00, and the street high analyst target price is $22.00 for the stock.
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