Should really be going home at this hour. But now that the day's work is done I can take a look at the lists of stocks that were greatest % gainers. The market opened up nicely today and the Dow did hang onto a 50 point gain with the NASDAQ pulling back a bit. Not too bad in light of the run on the leg of the rally. Is this another bull market? Who knows.
We are not involved in any timing. We just want to find the fastest 'horses' on the track!
Anyhow, Express Jet showed up on the list today.
XJT, according to CNN.money, "operating as Continental Express, is a regional airline offering scheduled passenger service with approximately 874 daily departures to 98 cities in 33 states, the District of Columbia, Mexico and Canada."
XJT had a great day today. One could say it really "took off" but that would be a groaner of a pun. The stock closed at $12.60 up $.86 on the day or 7.33%.
Looking at the NYTimes on the Web site, we can search through the headlines for the latest earnings which were reported on April 15th...about two weeks ago. They reported that first quarter net income was $25.6 million or $.40/diluted share...an increase of 28% over the prior year period.
The first quarter operating revenue increased 16 percent to $306.6 million, from $265.2 million in the first quarter of 2002...and available 'seat-miles' increased 24% over the same period.
If we look at the Morningstar.com website for information, we find that a look at the 5 year financials shows an increase in revenue from $419 million in 1997 to $528 million in 1998, $650 million in 1999, $844 million in 2000, and $980 million in 2001. I do not see the 2002 results there....but with $306 million in the first QUARTER of 2003, we can extrapolate an over $1 billion rate for the year.
Earnings have grown but have been a bit inconsistent as many airlines experience with different stresses on the performance...like terrorism and oil prices....the assets/liabilities shows lots of debt...typical of an airline...but there is $15 million in free cash flow as reported on Morningstar.
If you would like to own an airline stock, this might be a good one for you to consider. I do not own any shares of this issue....and do not see any compelling reason to invest at this time....but definitely worth watching for the future.
Have a great evening! Bob