Yahoo Finance Alaska Air Group's (ALK) May Traffic Up, Load Factor Down
Alaska Air Group, Inc. ALK reported moderate traffic results for May. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs), was up 7.4% to 3.78 billion.
On a year-over-year basis, consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) rose 9% to 4.84 billion. However, load factor or percentage of seats filled by passengers decreased 110 basis points to 85.4% as capacity expansion (8.8%) outpaced traffic growth.
In the first five months of 2018, the carrier generated RPMs of 21.84 billion (up 6.2% year over year) and ASMs of 26.6 billion (up 8% year over year). Load factor was projected at 82.1% compared with 83.5% in the first five months of 2017.
The decline in load factor highlights the fact that Alaska Air Group is suffering from woes related to capacity overexpansion. Lack of capacity discipline is one of the factors responsible for the carrier shedding more than 14.2% of its value so far this year.
YTD Price Performance
Apart from the traffic report, Alaska Air Group was in the news when its subsidiary, Alaska Airlines, announced its intention to launch a new route. The carrier will start operating non-stop flights connecting San Diego and Spokane, WA from Oct 1, 2018.
Notably, the decision to launch non-stop flights connecting Washington’s second-largest city to California’s second-largest city is part of Alaska Airlines’ efforts to strengthen its footprint on the West Coast. The non-stop flights will be the only ones to operate between the destinations. As a result, traffic on the route is expected to be high.
Alaska Airlines will utilize Embraer 175 planes for operating the new flights. The jets are equipped with all modern facilities to upgrade the flying experience of passengers.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Alaska Air Group carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are GATX Corporation GATX, SkyWest, Inc. SKYW and Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. EXPD. While GATX and SkyWest carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), Expeditors sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of GATX, SkyWest and Expeditors have gained 18%, 10.1% and 18.9%, respectively, in the past six months.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
See Them Free>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
GATX Corporation (GATX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
