The rising strength in the airline industry has also attracted the attention of many investors, notably deep value investor Warren Buffett, whom recently stated on CNBC that he “wouldn’t rule out owning an entire airline.”
Value investors may also notice that the New York Stock Exchange ARCA Airline Index is trading at a relatively cheap 14x price-to-earnings, compared to 20x for the Dow Jones Transportation Index and 22x for the S&P 500 as of the end of January 2018.
Investors can look to the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEArca: JETS), the lone ETF dedicated to airline stocks, to access the growth opportunity.
JETS follows the U.S. Global Jets Index, which uses fundamental screens to select airline companies, with an emphasis on domestic carriers, along with global aircraft manufacturers and airport companies. JETS is trading at a 10.0 price-to-earnings and a 2.2 price-to-book.
JETS is not a pure play on airlines as it is slightly diversified into aircraft manufacturers and airports & terminal services or infrastructure. The ETF also includes global exposure to North and South Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about the airline industry can watch the webcast here on demand.