Is PNCL a good stock buy?

Question

Do you have any info on this stock, pro or con?

Answer 1

They are a major hub of Northwest Airlines; a stock I have watched for some time and missed when it was trading around $6 when all the airlines were tanking:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=PNCL&t=5y

The PE ratio is low, under 6; and the earnings projections look excellent, look to make $2.11 next year with a five year projected growth rate of 20%.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ae?s=PNCL

Trading at $16, I would rate the stock a strong buy with a 12-24month target price of $40 a share, looks good.

Answer 2

Pros:
- The PE Ratio is low - 5.8
- The PEG ratio is low - .48
- 20% Growth

Cons:
- Though the PE is low, the foward PE Ratio for next year is 7.6, which means it did not grow from last year.
- The projections might look okay (Im not sure, I know nothing about this business), but as you can see, the projections have been lowered significantly this quarter and for next year.
- They also have a lot of debt, which might not be bad, but makes me uncomfortable
- Gross Profit in 2006 was not as much as in 2005

Final Though: Though this company has a low PE and PEG ratio, they are heavily outweighed by the cons. I cannot recommend this company at this moment. I have been avoiding airlines lately do to rising oil prices. I can probably think of a dozen companies to buy instead of this one.

Good Luck
- Black

Answer 3

Well, it is just coming off of a minor momentum swell, so it may be on a series of good buying days. Traffic was up in November, so if news is good for December's business then it may continue to be bouyed. Finished its labor contract with the Transport Workers Union, so costs will be a tad bit higher but labor issues fairly steady from here out.

The best single thing that perks my interest is that insider Monish Pobrai has been buying shares hand over fist recently. From scanning the lackluster options action, I suspect he is more interested in power than profits, but then profit potential may be behind it. Perhaps a buyout is brewing.

You could do worse, but don't bet the ranch on it, okay?