CHICAGO, Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU-Free Report), Latam Airlines Group SA (NYSE:LFL-Free Report), United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL-Free Report), Spirit Airlines Inc. (Nasdaq:SAVE-Free Report) and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A-Free Report).
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Here are highlights from Friday's Analyst Blog:
JetBlue Adds Silver to Its Network
The formation of yet another airline partnership failed to excite shareholders of JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU-Free Report) as stock ended in red on Thursday trade on Nasdaq. JetBlue entered into an interline ticketing agreement with Fort Lauderdale based Silver Airways, which offers the highest number of flights in Florida and the Bahamas.
The interline partnership will allow passengers of both sets of airlines to access each other's network. JetBlue will benefit from Silver Airways' network in Florida and Bahamas, which include places like Pensacola, Gainesville and The Abacos among others.
Similarly, passengers of Silver Airways will benefit from JetBlue's extensive operations across the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America. Tickets for the services are now available either through silverairways.com or through different travel agencies and flights are expected to start in early 2014.
Airline partnerships are a strategic key to airline carrier growth prospects. JetBlue remains focused on growing partnerships with both legacy and international carriers to enhance its services and enjoy travel benefits.
Notably, this is the 30th airline partnership for JetBlue. Similar agreements were previously formed with top tier carriers like British Airways, Emirates, Singapore airlines and Latam Airlines Group SA (NYSE:LFL-Free Report) to name a few. For Silver, this is the 2nd agreement with a major U.S. carrier as the company operates scheduled flights on behalf of United Express, a service run by United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE:UAL-Free Report).
We believe partnerships could be a good growth strategy for carriers amid the recent consolidation trend that is being noticed within the airline industry. Partnerships provide an expansion opportunity for carriers without incurring heavy costs as required in mergers and acquisitions.
JetBlue currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Other stocks worth considering within this sector include Spirit Airlines Inc. (Nasdaq:SAVE-Free Report). Save currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Shell to Abandon GTL Venture
Integrated energy firm Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A-Free Report) reported that it will not be going ahead with its previously proposed program to construct a gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Louisiana. Moreover, the company is planning to stop all activities related to the development.
The Gulf Coast GTL project was expected to have a capacity of roughly 140,000 barrels of liquid fuel per day from natural gas feedstock. Moreover, the availability of gas is abundant in the locality. Despite these factors, the company felt that the North American project was not a feasible opportunity in the long run. Shell believes that the expected development expenses as well as uncertainty related to future oil and gas prices pose a potential threat when considerations of profit are taken into account.
Management reveals that the recent decision reflects the company's plan to allocate capital to more profitable projects worldwide, with a view to increase shareholder value.
U.K.-based Shell is the largest oil company in Europe. Moreover, the company has operations worldwide and is involved in various activities related to oil and natural gas, chemicals, power generation, renewable energy resources, and other energy related businesses.
However, Shell's relatively heavy downstream exposure leaves it less diversified than its integrated peers. As such, the company's results remain greatly exposed to refining/marketing margins. Shell's downstream operations have struggled recently due to weak demand for fuel, leading to lower returns in this segment.
Royal Dutch Shell currently holds a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), implying that it is expected to underperform the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.
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