Hawaiian Holdings, Inc.’s HA wholly owned subsidiary Hawaiian Airlines reported traffic figures for January. Traffic (measured in Revenue Passenger Miles or RPMs) increased 4.8% to 1.43 billion in the month. Available Seat Miles (ASMs) also climbed 4.6% to 1.7 billion in the period. Load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) inched up 20 basis points (bps) to 84.3% as traffic growth outweighed capacity expansion. However, the number of passengers transported slid 1.5% year over year to 958,548 in January.

With the earnings season on, let’s delve into the company’s fourth-quarter performance. The company’s earnings (excluding 36 cents from non-recurring items) of $1 per share outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents. Moreover, quarterly revenues of $697.5 million edged past the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $696.3 million. While earnings per share decreased, revenues increased on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, operating revenue per available seat mile in the reported quarter dipped 3.3% year over year. In the first quarter of 2019, the metric is projected to decline between 3% and 6% on a year-over-year basis. Fuel cost per gallon (economic) is anticipated in the band of $1.95-$2.05 in the first quarter. Non-fuel unit costs are forecast to inch up in the 1-4% range.

Capacity is predicted to grow between 1.5% and 3% for the first quarter. The metric is expected to expand within 1.5-4.5% for 2019. Non-fuel unit costs are envisioned to be flat or increase up to 3% this year.

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. Price

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. Price | Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. Quote

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Hawaiian Holdings carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are Azul S.A. AZUL, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited CP and Union Pacific Corporation UNP. While Azul flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Azul, Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific have rallied more than 10%, 16% and 28%, respectively, in a year.

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