The last time I wrote about British Airways owner International Airlines Group (LSE: IAG) its shares were still reeling from the effects of the EU referendum, having sunk to levels not seen since 2014. I argued that savvy investors should take advantage of the share price weakness and scoop up the shares before they bounced back. But was I right to go against the herd?
Bank those profits?
With the shares changing hands at 530p earlier today, they’re certainly more popular than they were at 392p back in September. Those that took my advice will be sitting on healthy gains in the region of 35%. Sometimes it pays to be contrarian. So what now? Is it time to bank those paper profits and move on, or perhaps be greedy and hold on in the hope of further gains?
Well, the uncertainties around Brexit certainly haven’t put IAG’s expansion plans on hold. Earlier this month the group, which also owns Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling, as well as Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus, decided that wasn’t enough to be getting on with, and announced the launch of a new low-cost long-haul airline based in Barcelona.
Hop on board
The new airline, curiously-named Level, will initially be operated by Iberia’s flight and cabin crew and will fly to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Buenos Aires and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. As the group’s fifth main airline, Level may eventually fly from other European destinations other than Barcelona.
To me that doesn’t sound like an airline that’s too worried about the strength of the UK economy, Brexit or the sinking pound. It sounds like an airline that’s shrugging off the uncertainties and confidently pressing ahead with its expansion plans. And why not? The latest set of traffic statistics showed a 2.9% increase in group traffic for the month of February, with capacity edging 2.2% higher.
Personally I think the shares still offer great value for investors. With our friends in the Square Mile expecting the group’s revenues to rise to €22.6bn this year and pre-tax profits closing in on €2.4bn, an earnings multiple of just seven seems far too cheap. In my opinion it’s still not too late for investors to hop on board International Consolidated Airlines.
Meet the Fokkers
Another FTSE 100 stalwart that looked undervalued to me back in September is GKN (LSE: GKN). The Redditch-based global engineering group has also outperformed over the last six months, gaining 12% since my last recommendation. With the share price now at two-year highs is it time to cut and run?
2016 was another successful year for the group, with sales up 22% and a strong performance from Dutch aerospace business Fokker Technologies in its first full year of ownership.
With military sales expected to improve this year and a strong commercial order book, I remain bullish on the group’s prospects for growth. Despite a 30% share price rise over the past year I think GKN is still a little undervalued at 11 times forward earnings.
