Boeing Co Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (BA)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations, increase in stock price during the past year and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• BA's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 5.2%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 12.9%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 255.45% to $1,596.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, BOEING CO has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 35.75%.
• Current return on equity is lower than its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of weakness within the company. Compared to other companies in the Aerospace & Defense industry and the overall market, BOEING CO's return on equity significantly exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• In its most recent trading session, BA has closed at a price level that was not very different from its closing price of one year earlier. This is probably due to its weak earnings growth as well as other mixed factors. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, it goes without saying that even the best stocks can fall in an overall down market. However, in any other environment, this stock still has good upside potential despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year.
• BOEING CO's earnings per share declined by 7.5% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, BOEING CO increased its bottom line by earning $5.32 versus $4.44 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 6.0% in earnings ($5.00 versus $5.32).

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and support of commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and launch systems and services worldwide. Boeing has a market cap of $56.06 billion and is part of the industrial goods sector and aerospace/defense industry. The company has a P/E ratio of 13.1, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 1.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Boeing Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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