Value for Money: 1 Entertainment Stock or Air Canada (TSX:AC)? (2024)

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Investors will readily choose an entertainment stock over the TSX’s top airline company in 2022, because it offers better value and higher earnings potential.

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Christopher became a CFA Charterholder in 2016.He has worked at some of the largest companies in Canada, working as an Energy Trader at Enmax, a Financial Advisor at RBC, and was a Wholesaler for CI Investments and Sentry Investments.He is a staff writer at Motley Fool with hundreds of articles contributed.

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Value for Money: 1 Entertainment Stock or Air Canada (TSX:AC)? (3)

Canada’s flag carrier and an iconic media & content company suffered similar fates when COVID-19 broke out in 2020. Fast forward to 2022, and both are in recovery mode. If you’re investing today and have only Air Canada (TSX:AC) and Corus Entertainment (TSX:CJR.B) to choose from, which stock offers real value for money?

Full recovery extended

Air Canada was grounded when the federal government closed Canada’s borders and imposed travel bans to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The airline industry, in general, lost billions of dollars in revenues, as travel demand fell drastically, if not to zero.

The $8.8 billion airline company reported profits for 27 consecutive quarters before the pandemic. However, a string of seven quarterly losses followed thereafter, beginning in Q1 2020 to Q4 2021. Air Canada will report its Q1 2022 earnings on April 26, 2022.

Investors lost 53.06% in 2020 but expected to recover the following year when travel restrictions eased. Instead, Air Canada delivered a -7.2% overall return. As of this writing, the airline stock trades at $24 per share — a 13.58% year-to-date gain.

On April 15, 2022, the company flew more than 100,000 passengers. It was the first time the volume was that much in one day since March 13, 2020. Before the global pandemic, Air Canada flies 150,000 people, on average, daily in 2019. The record 187,000 customers and the day was August 16, 2019.

Kevin O’Connor, Air Canada’s VP of systems operations, said, “Clearly there is pent-up demand for travel that is matched only by our enthusiasm to welcome back our customers.” However, don’t expect the stock to fly high, despite the announcement that the full-year seat capacity will increase by 150%.

Management said that its capacity this year is only 75% of the 2019 levels. It added that a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels will extend, given that the forecasted capacity by 2024 is 95% of the level in the year before COVID-19. Air Canada is consistently at the top rankings of the best airlines in Canada. Regarding price forecasts, market analysts see a return potential of 25% in 12 months and 45.8% at best.

Profits are back

Corus Entertainment was also a losing investment in 2020, although the negative return (-13.65%) wasn’t as much as Air Canada’s. The entertainment stock recovered the following year and rewarded investors with a 16.05% total return. In fiscal 2021 (year ended August 31, 2021), net income reached $172.55 million compared to the $625.36 million net loss in fiscal 2020.

Unlike Air Canada, the turnaround of this $928.4 media and content company was swift. In the first half of fiscal 2022 (six months ended February 28, 2022), Corus reported a 6% and 11% increase in revenue and free cash flow versus the same period in fiscal 2021. Net income, however, fell 17% to $92.38 million. Nevertheless, the company is no longer in the red.

Market analysts recommend a buy rating for Corus. Their 12-month average price target is $7.34, or 61.3% higher than the current share price of $4.55. Since the stock pays a hefty dividend of 5.27%, the overall return should be significantly higher.

Corus is a buy

Air Canada and Corus Entertainment have different operations and clientele. However, if the stocks are the remaining investments available, Corus offers better value. Besides the price and dividend payouts, the company is back to making profits. The airline might even report another losing quarter

Value for Money: 1 Entertainment Stock or Air Canada (TSX:AC)? (2024)

FAQs

What is the fair value of Air Canada stock? ›

As of 2024-04-28, the Fair Value of Air Canada (AC.TO) is 162.22 CAD. This value is based on the Peter Lynch's Fair Value formula. With the current market price of 20.02 CAD, the upside of Air Canada is 710.3%.

Is Air Canada a good buy now? ›

Air Canada's analyst rating consensus is a Strong Buy. This is based on the ratings of 9 Wall Streets Analysts.

Is Air Canada under valued? ›

Within the past 12 months, ACDVF's P/CF has been as high as 9.27 and as low as -107.82, with a median of 1.80. These are just a handful of the figures considered in Air Canada's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment.

Is Air Canada stock a buy or sell? ›

Air Canada's analyst rating consensus is a Strong Buy.

What is the target price for air stock? ›

The average price target for AAR Corp. is $81.33. This is based on 5 Wall Streets Analysts 12-month price targets, issued in the past 3 months. The highest analyst price target is $83.00 ,the lowest forecast is $80.00. The average price target represents 19.04% Increase from the current price of $68.32.

Is Air Canada a risky investment? ›

However, others are more cautious, citing concerns about the high volatility of the airline industry, the cyclical nature of the business, and potential challenges such as rising energy costs and increased competition. Overall, it seems the stock is seen as a risky investment with limited upside in the long term.

Why is Air Canada's stock so low? ›

Air Canada shares were lower Friday morning after the company reported lower-than-expected capacity growth and higher-than-expected costs in its 2024 guidance.

Why should I invest in Air Canada? ›

And it did just that. In fact, not only did Air Canada survive, but today, the airliner is seeing extremely strong demand and a resurgence of profitability. For the full year of 2023, Air Canada posted revenue of $21.8 billion, up 32% versus 2022.

What is special about Air Canada? ›

Our world-class Air Canada Signature Class cabins offer fully lie-flat seats on most international flights and on select flights in North America. Fly our Boeing 777 or 787 Dreamliner aircraft and you'll experience Executive Pods that feature adjustable cushion systems that can be extended into fully lie-flat beds.

Who owns most shares of Air Canada? ›

Largest shareholders include JETS - U.S. Global Jets ETF, VGTSX - Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Investor Shares, VTMGX - Vanguard Developed Markets Index Fund Admiral Shares, VFSNX - Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap Index Fund Institutional Shares, BBCA - JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF, FLVCX - ...

Who is Air Canada owned by? ›

Air Canada became fully privatized in 1989, and its variable voting shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:AC), and, since 29 July 2016, on OTCQX International Premier in the US under the single ticker symbol "ACDVF". As of April 2021, the Government of Canada owns approximately 6.4% of Air Canada.

Is airs a good stock to buy? ›

AIRS Stock Forecast FAQ

Airsculpt Technologies, Inc. has 46.02% upside potential, based on the analysts' average price target. Airsculpt Technologies, Inc. has a conensus rating of Moderate Buy which is based on 1 buy ratings, 0 hold ratings and 0 sell ratings.

What is the financial analysis of Air Canada? ›

Operating income of $2.279 billion, with an operating margin of 10.4 per cent, improved $2.466 billion. Adjusted EBITDA of $3.982 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin* of 18.2 per cent, improved $2.525 billion, at the high end of the guidance provided in Air Canada's news release dated October 30, 2023.

How much dividend does Air Canada pay? ›

Air Canada (TSE:AC) does not pay a dividend. Does Air Canada have sufficient earnings to cover their dividend? Air Canada (TSE:AC) does not pay a dividend.

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