SWA still growing...more hiring???

[chase]

The rumors are stirring that more airplanes are on the way....lots of things will need to fall into place but Southwest is standing by to acquire more if they come available. No Gary Kelly didn't call me but the tone has been set in the company to "be prepared for more". Whether it comes to pass it is hard to say but everything is geared for it. For those in the pool, be ready for the drain plug to be pulled & you may be swept up sooner than you think...have a plan to respond...

For those wanting to interview the matra is the same, have your paperwork & background references ready. Interview calls for Jan will occur in Dec (only a couple of weeks away) so make sure you're ready to go.

Southwest moves closer to No. 1

Southwest may be on its way to become the first discounter to carry the most domestic U.S. passengers on a yearly basis. The carrier made news in May by becoming the first low-cost airline to fly the most passengers within the USA for a single month, and now the carrier leads all U.S. carriers for domestic passengers for the January-through-August period of 2004. According to the latest data from the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Southwest has boarded 54,826,178 passengers U.S. flights through the end of August, about 1 million more than No. 2 Delta. American had the third-most passengers on U.S. routes. The figures include only boardings at U.S. airports and does not include international numbers. Southwest has no international flights, while American and Delta have numerous overseas offerings. Posted 6:15 a.m. ET

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The debt/equity ratio is a solid indicator of financial health for any company. The author points this out clearly & how it compares to others. The stock recently has spiked slightly & hopefully that will continue. If the stock moves to the $20 range or higher you will see an exodus of pilots who are holding large amounts of stock...this bodes well for those wishing to interview.

By Ross Snel
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
11/16/2004 7:30 AM EST
Click here for more stories by Ross Snel

Southwest Airlines (LUV:NYSE - commentary - research) has risen above some tough times in the airline industry.

Even as skyrocketing fuel prices led to third-quarter losses at most major airlines, Dallas-based Southwest logged a tidy profit -- for the 54th quarter in a row -- of $119 million, or 15 cents a share, thanks to its aggressive fuel price hedging program. The airline also kept a lid on nonfuel costs and filled more of its seats, even though it flew more often.


Financially, Southwest is the envy of its industry. While rivals have been burning cash, Southwest had $1.88 billion at the end of September, an increase from $1.87 billion at the end of 2003.

With Southwest's bright profile, investors may wonder how dear its stock can become. Is there room for more appreciation from the current price around $16, or do shares already account for the good news? Analysts say to expect more gains, although not stratospheric ones.

"I still think there's room for the stock to improve," said Jim Corridore, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's, who has a $20 12-month price target on the stock and a buy rating, his company's second-highest after strong buy. (Standard & Poor's does not do investment banking business with the companies its analysts cover, but its affiliates may provide other services to them.)

The analyst noted that Southwest doesn't have the sort of debt burden other airlines do and is "financially the strongest airline in terms of being able to do whatever plans" its management conceives.

A look at airlines' third-quarter results reveals just how strong Southwest's balance sheet is compared with those in the rest of its industry. As of the end of September, the company's ratio of total long-term debt (including current maturities) to total shareholders' equity was 0.35. The lower this ratio, the less leveraged a company is. Network carriers have much higher ratios; Continental Airlines (CAL:NYSE - commentary - research), for example, had a 7.97 ratio in the latest quarter. But even Southwest's low-cost competitor JetBlue Airways (JBLU:Nasdaq - commentary - research) had a higher ratio: 1.80.

 

[canyonblue]

http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2004/bts031_04/html/bts031_04.html#table_03



Nice ranking. Looks like the BCS except someone there is overrated.

 

[TrumanSparks]

Yea, USC.


Go Sooners!