Sunday night, I flew home from a conference in Montreal and had the pleasure of flying with WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSX:WJA). While I was on the flight, I spent some time thinking about the company both as an investor and as a consumer. Should investors actually think about buying WestJet Airlines or would it be better to avoid the airlines at this time?
After spending time doing research, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a smart investment for those who are looking to acquire an airline that still has many years of growth ahead of it. Here are three reasons why I believe investors should consider buying the company.
1. Oil prices increase margins
When investors think about oil prices, they think about how that can negatively impact the economy. And in some ways, that impact is very real. If oil companies start going out of business, people will lose their jobs.
But the other side of the discussion is that the rest of the populace sees a small stimulus in their bank accounts because they are spending less on oil and fuel for their vehicles. WestJet is one of those entities that is seeing its fuel bill go down.
This results in increased profit margins for the company. If we look at the first half of 2015 compared with the first half of 2014, net income rose by 43.4% to $202.29 million. One factor that has contributed to that is fuel pricing.
2. WestJet has growth on the mind
In line with the previous point, WestJet is looking to grow into the business travel market, which could be highly lucrative for the company. Right now, Air Canada is the primary method for those that need to travel to Europe on business. With WestJet acquiring four wide-body Boeing 767-300s, the company is looking to target a Toronto-to-London flight path.
This is important because business travel is much more predictable to airlines than consumer travel. Businesses need to get their people to different locations irrespective of airline prices; consumers can back away at any time.
But consumer growth is also expected. Bob Cummings, the EVP of commercial flights at WestJet, talked about how the company is looking to give consumers direct flights to locations such as Jamaica and Hawaii at tremendously competitive prices. Once again, because fuel prices are down, WestJet can make these market share grabs.
3. WestJet pays a premium dividend
All of this leads to the final point about why I like WestJet. As I sat on that plane and looked around at everyone else flying, I recognized that each of those people were contributing to WestJet’s lucrative dividend.
The company pays $0.14 per quarter, which factors out to a 2.35% yield. What I like about the dividend even more is that it is growing. WestJet has increased the dividend for five years in a row, including the 16.7% increase in February. Investors deserve to get pay raises like anyone else, and WestJet is delivering.
The reality is that WestJet is still growing and looking to achieve market share. But as it grows, it pays a generous dividend to investors. And as that growth continues, the company will likely continue increasing the dividend. That sounds like the kind of company I want to own.
