Are These The Best Travel Stocks To Buy Now?
After dealing with the pandemic for more than a year now, travel is on plenty of consumers’ minds. Likewise, investors could be eyeing the top travel stocks in the stock market today, because of this. Now, as most would know, travel stocks are among the key names in the reopening trade. After all, as countries reopen, loosening travel restrictions would follow suit. Additionally, pent-up demand for tourism services from eager tourists would also be another major tailwind for the sector. When you consider these two factors, we could be looking at a perfect storm for the travel industry ahead.
For the most part, when it comes to travel, investors would likely turn to airline stocks or cruise line stocks now. No doubt, companies across both industries are more than eager to facilitate the return of tourism activities as well. In fact, Delta (NYSE: DAL) and American Airlines (NASDAQ: AAL) are actively restructuring their holiday flight schedules to account for staffing shortages now. To remedy this, Delta is looking to hire over 1,000 pilots through summer 2022. This would be a strategic move as airline companies continue to report surges in flight ticket bookings.
Meanwhile, cruise line operator Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) is currently halfway through a seven-night voyage via its Celebrity Edge ship. Notably, this marks the first passenger cruise from a U.S. port in over 15-months. If that wasn’t enough, RCL is also preparing for the U.K. summer season at the same time. The company’s Anthem of the Seas vessel is looking to set sail on July 7. Overall, there still seems to be room for the travel and tourism-related sectors to run. Should you feel the same way, here are three top travel stocks to watch in the stock market now.
Best Travel Stocks To Watch This Week
- United Airlines Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL)
- Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB)
- Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL)
United Airlines Holdings Inc.
United is an airlines company that is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the largest airlines in the world and has 8 hubs. It is a founding member of the world’s largest airline alliance with a total of 28 member airlines. UAL stock currently trades at $52.52 as of 1:16 p.m. ET and has been up by over 25% year-to-date. Today, the company announced an exciting piece of news with Boeing (NYSE: BA).
In detail, United says that it plans to add 200 Boeing 737 MAX and 70 Airbus (OTCMKTS: EADSY) A321neo to its fleet. This would be the largest order in United’s history and also the biggest by a single carrier in a decade. Also, the company will retrofit 100% of its remaining mainline, narrow-body fleet to facilitate the customer experience and create a new signature interior. This would include an approximately 75% increase in premium seats per North American departure, larger overhead bins, seatback entertainment in every seat, and a wide array of other benefits.
In early June, the company also launched a new corporate venture fund, United Airlines Ventures. The venture fund will allow the airline to continue investing in emerging companies that have the potential to influence the future of travel. The new fund will concentrate on sustainability concepts that will complement United’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. This is an impressive goal considering that the company will not rely on traditional carbon offsets. The new funds could help revolutionary aerospace developments and innovative technologies that would ultimately create value for United’s customers and operations. For these reasons, is UAL stock worth watching today?
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Airbnb Inc.
Airbnb is a travel company that focuses on connecting Hosts to guests all around the world. In essence, the company operates its online marketplace for lodging which primarily includes homestays for vacation rentals and other tourism activities. Impressively, the company says it has connected 4 million Hosts to over 800 million guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. ABNB stock currently trades at $147.96 as of 1:16 p.m. ET.
Last month, the company announced its first-quarter financials and showed major signs of recovery based on the economy reopening and improving travel trends. For instance, the company reported 64.4 million bookings for the quarter, a 13% increase year-over-year. Gross booking value (GBV) was $10.3 billion for the quarter, a 52% increase year-over-year. Revenue for the quarter was $887 million, a 5% increase year-over-year. Airbnb says that its business model is adaptable, and its business has rebounded faster than expected.
Last month, the company announced over 100 comprehensive upgrades to refine and improve its operations. This would include its website and mobile app to its community support and policies. Among the features added would be to give guests even more flexibility when planning their travel and to make it simple for anyone who wants to be a Host. “We are seeing three fundamental shifts in travel as people become less tethered and more flexible,” said Brian Chesky, Co-Founder, and CEO of Airbnb. “People can travel anytime, they are traveling to more places and they are staying longer. The lines between travel, living, and working are blurring and we are upgrading our service to make it easier for people to integrate travel into their lives, and for more people to become Hosts.” With the excitement surrounding the company, will you consider buying ABNB stock?
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Carnival Corporation
Topping off our list today is the Carnival Corporation. In short, it is one of the biggest names in the leisure travel industry globally today. As such, it would make sense then that CCL stock is among the top travel stocks to know today. For some context, Carnival’s industry-leading cruise line portfolio consists of nine brands. The likes of which offer consumers sailing experiences across all seven continents. As travel trends eventually pick up the pace, it would not surprise me to see CCL stock following suit. Evidently, the company’s shares have already more than tripled in value since its pandemic-era low. CCL stock currently trades at $25.94 a share as of 1:16 p.m. ET.
If anything, Carnival appears to be pulling out all the stops right now. Namely, Carnival announced plans to sell roughly $500 million in stock, yesterday. This would mark yet another key means of raising capital. After all, Carnival, among other travel industry veterans, is still dealing with pandemic-boosted cash burn rates. As a result, some investors were quick to trim their positions in the company, explaining a 7% dip in CCL stock on Monday. However, a recent update from CEO Arnold Donald may suggest that things appear to be looking up for business now.
According to Donald, demand for Carnival’s cruises is already surpassing pre-pandemic levels. He explained, “Honestly, people are chomping at the bit to cruise again. We do not have an issue with being able to fill the ships.” With Carnival kicking into high gear now, would you consider CCL stock a top watch?
