Get Four
Free Issues

Subscribe to BW
Customer Service


Full Table of Contents
Cover Story
Special Report
Up Front
Readers Report
Corrections & Clarifications
Technology & You
Media Centric
Business Outlook
The Business Week
News: Analysis & Commentary



Washington Outlook
Global Business
Finance
Managing
The Workplace
Information Technology
People
Developments to Watch
Media
Environment
Personal Business
Plus
Inside Wall Street
Figures of the Week
Ideas -- Books
Ideas -- The Welch Way
Ideas -- Outside Shot




APRIL 10, 2006
INSIDE WALL STREET

Boeing: Up In The Clouds

Higher And HigherSince diving from 51 in 2003 to a three-year low of 24, Boeing (BA ) (BA) has soared to 78 -- and the smart money says it'll keep going. "It has strong free cash flow, which will continue as it fills 2005 orders," says Standard & Poor's (MHP ) Jim Corridore, who upgraded the stock from "hold," to "buy," with a 12-month target of 85. (Boeing was featured in this column on Feb. 21, 2005, at 54.) Orders this year may not match 2005's, but financial results will be strong, he says. Corridore is upbeat on CEO James McNerney, who, he says, can push up debt-adjusted return on equity to 15%-17% for the next 10 years. Compounded free-cash-flow growth, he estimates, will hit 7.5% to 8.5%. And earnings before interest and taxes, he adds, should rise from 6% to over 8%. Ronald Epstein of Merrill Lynch (MER ), which has done business with Boeing, writes that "better-than-expected demand" globally for the 787 will increase deliveries in 2008 to 450 aircraft from an estimated 425 in 2007 and 405 in 2006. Output, Epstein figures, will stay at that level through 2010. The 787 "is a category killer," he says. Recently, he upped his profit estimate for 2006 from $3.35 a share to $3.40 and for 2007 from $4.20 to $4.30. The figures might be conservative, he adds. Value Line's (VALU ) Morton Siegel notes that the 787, slated to appear in 2008, is already nearly sold out through 2010. A bigger 787 will enter service in 2012. Siegel sees Boeing performing well for years to come.


Note: Unless otherwise noted, neither the sources cited in Inside Wall Street nor their firms hold positions in the stocks under discussion. Similarly, they have no investment banking or other financial relationships with them.



By Gene G. Marcial

 BW MALL   SPONSORED LINKS
Buy a link now!

Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.XML

Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed.

Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video.

To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here.

Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page

Back to Top



TODAY'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

  1. Worst Jobs with the Best Pay
  2. Black Friday Sales Rose, But More Discounts Loom
  3. How Private Equity Strangled Mervyns
  4. Cost-Conscious Companies Turn to Open-Source Software
  5. Open Source: The Model Is Broken

Get Free RSS Feed >>
  MARKET INFO

Portfolio Service Update

Stock Lookup

Enter name or ticker



Media Kit | Special Sections | MarketPlace | Knowledge Centers
McGraw-Hill Cos.