Sometimes you cannot help but wonder what people expect out of aerospace stock Boeing (BA). It just landed a hefty new order for nine 787 Dreamliners from Ethiopian Airlines. Despite this clear win, investors still turned on Boeing stock, sending it down fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The Dreamliners will help augment Ethopian’s capacity for long-haul travel, which customers are increasingly looking for. Given that Ethiopian currently serves 145 international destinations, it needs a fleet that can handle that kind of range, and the Dreamliner has demonstrated its capability abundantly in that field.
Interestingly, this is not the first purchase Ethopian has made from Boeing lately. Back at the Dubai Air Show, Ethopian placed an order for 11 737 MAX jets, which brings the total of Boeing jets ordered to 20. Ethopian’s CEO, Mesfin Tasew, noted, “We are pleased to confirm the order for nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to further expand our existing fleet. This order underscores our continued commitment to enhancing our fleet with modern, fuel-efficient aircraft, thereby further strengthening our customer service. We will continue to acquire more aircraft and adopt the latest technologies as part of our strategic vision to advance sustainable aviation.”
New Jobs Afoot
Boeing is also setting up a new hiring event in San Antonio. On Saturday, January 31, Boeing will have its hiring event at the Workforce Solutions Alamo Career Center in a bid to find new mechanics and engineers for the operation. Earlier reports from Boeing noted it was looking for applicants for three different positions, mainly as electrical aircraft mechanics, though at all levels of experience.
Boeing warned that getting a United States security clearance may have been required, but it was willing to offer relocation assistance. This suggests that the projects involved may be military, though there are no specific remarks indicating that is the case.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 14 Buys, two Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 41.08% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $257.69 per share implies 4.31% upside potential.
