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Best Airline Stocks to Buy Now (2023)

Top airline stocks in 2023 ranked by overall Zen Score. See the best airline stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the airlines industry.

According to Zen Score, the 3 best airline stocks to buy right now are:

Allegiant Travel Co (NASDAQ:ALGT) is the top airline stock with a Zen Score of 59, which is 23 points higher than the airline industry average of 36. It passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Allegiant Travel Co has seen its stock lose -13.39% over the past year, underperforming other airline stocks by -13 percentage points.

Allegiant Travel Co has an average 1 year price target of $103.29, an upside of 51.82% from Allegiant Travel Co's current stock price of $68.03.

Allegiant Travel Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Allegiant Travel Co, 14.29% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 28.57% have issued a Buy, 57.14% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Sun Country Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ:SNCY) is the second best airline stock with a Zen Score of 58, which is 22 points higher than the airline industry average of 36. It passed 19 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Sun Country Airlines Holdings has seen its stock lose -22.43% over the past year, underperforming other airline stocks by -22 percentage points.

Sun Country Airlines Holdings has an average 1 year price target of $21.40, an upside of 42.29% from Sun Country Airlines Holdings's current stock price of $15.04.

Sun Country Airlines Holdings stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering Sun Country Airlines Holdings, 40% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 20% have issued a Buy, 40% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) is the third best airline stock with a Zen Score of 57, which is 21 points higher than the airline industry average of 36. It passed 20 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Southwest Airlines Co has seen its stock lose -35.65% over the past year, underperforming other airline stocks by -36 percentage points.

Southwest Airlines Co has an average 1 year price target of $32.52, an upside of 31.01% from Southwest Airlines Co's current stock price of $24.82.

Southwest Airlines Co stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 15 analysts covering Southwest Airlines Co, 6.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 20% have issued a Buy, 60% have issued a hold, while 6.67% have issued a Sell rating, and 6.67% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 5 airline stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 airline stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE) has an annual dividend yield of 7.7%, which is 5 percentage points higher than the airline industry average of 3.11%.

Spirit Airlines's dividend payout ratio of -20.4% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) has an annual dividend yield of 2.9%, which is the same as the airline industry average of 3.11%. Southwest Airlines Co's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Southwest Airlines Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Southwest Airlines Co's dividend payout ratio of 86.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Copa Holdings Sa (NYSE:CPA) has an annual dividend yield of 2.63%, which is the same as the airline industry average of 3.11%. Copa Holdings Sa's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Copa Holdings Sa's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Copa Holdings Sa's dividend payout ratio of 0% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Airline stocks were up 0.27% in the last day, and up 0.95% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why airline stocks are up.

Based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score, the 3 most undervalued airline stocks right now are:

Allegiant Travel Co (NASDAQ:ALGT) is the most undervalued airline stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Allegiant Travel Co has a valuation score of 100, which is 51 points higher than the airline industry average of 49. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Allegiant Travel Co's stock has dropped -13.39% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the airline industry by -13 percentage points.

Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ:ATSG) is the second most undervalued airline stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Air Transport Services Group has a valuation score of 86, which is 37 points higher than the airline industry average of 49. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Air Transport Services Group's stock has dropped -42.42% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the airline industry by -42 percentage points.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) is the third most undervalued airline stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. American Airlines Group has a valuation score of 71, which is 22 points higher than the airline industry average of 49. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

American Airlines Group's stock has dropped -12% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the airline industry by -12 percentage points.