Those hoping for a rapid turnaround at aerospace company Boeing (BA) may be disappointed. At least, that’s according to Bill George, a “leadership guru” who says the rough times may not be over at Boeing just because there’s a new CEO in town. In fact, he says it could take a decade to turn things around. Shares of Boeing slumped accordingly, down modestly in Monday afternoon’s trading.
In a Yahoo Finance interview, George noted that Boeing has “…been on the wrong track for 20 years.” This means the entire company needs to think differently, though based on some of the reports from whistleblowers, there are at least a few people within Boeing who are more than willing to do just that.
Meanwhile, new CEO Robert “Kelly” Ortberg may have started on just such a process, meeting with the presidents of IAM 751 and W24, two unions that Boeing is currently working with. Ortberg joined “…for a productive conversation and the opportunity to listen,” he noted. The two unions represent about 33,000 workers, and the contract negotiations are regarded as the “first major test” Ortberg will face.
Boeing Looks to Exit the Space Launch Business
Remember everything terrible we have heard about Boeing’s Starliner project? Or its space launch systems? Well, reports note that Boeing may be looking to get out of the space business, or at least the space launch business. Boeing is currently in talks with Sierra Space, part of the Sierra Nevada Corporation, to sell off the launch business.
Boeing and fellow United Launch Alliance founder Lockheed Martin (LMT) have tried to get rid of the launch business before, and this is, apparently, merely the latest attempt. The talks are still in their earliest stages, but given the black eye that Boeing has taken over the last several months, Sierra Space might find Boeing a very motivated seller.
Is Boeing a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 15 Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 21.74% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $217.47 per share implies 22.04% upside potential.
