Aerospace stock Boeing (BA) let out the numbers on its March deliveries, and the news was about as good as could be asked for. There is a bit of a caveat with it, but right now, things are looking wonderful. And the numbers Boeing put up were more than enough to catch investors’ attention, who, in turn, sent shares up over 2.5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
Boeing delivered, in a big way, so far this year, with excellent results all around. For March, Boeing delivered 41 jets, which was up from 29 this time last year. It did represent a small drop from both January and February’s numbers; Boeing delivered 45 jets in January and 44 in February, which makes earlier-noticed concerns that Boeing is making deliveries out of finished-goods inventory that much more likely to be the case.
By way of comparison, however, Boeing rival Airbus (EADSY) fairly destroyed Boeing. It turned out 71 airplanes in March and a grand total of 136 jets for the quarter ultimately swamped Boeing on both fronts. Despite production issues, Boeing is still pulling orders, landing 163 net orders for March alone. However, it is worth knowing that that includes 29 canceled orders, which brings it down from the original gross order count of 192.
Satellite Production on the Rise
Boeing is not just building jets, either. Reports note that Boeing is looking to ramp up its presence in satellite production as well. Boeing Space Mission Systems is reportedly getting together hot production lines to step up its delivery figure on that front as well. It is also looking into new technology to improve its payload figures.
The El Segundo factory is reportedly churning out several different products, from the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system for the United States military to a set of six different satellites to detect, and then track, missiles for the United States Space Force. With this many different products in play, and this many government contracts involved, it is a safe bet that Boeing will be able to turn over substantial cash flow for some time to come.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 12 Buys, five Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 19.91% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $195.87 per share implies 37.83% upside potential.
