Summer Vacation 2020 was hardly anything but bleak, with COVID-19 causing many to cancel their vacation plans, and stocks in the entertainment, booking, airline, cruise and hotel sectors taking major hits.
Now, fast forward to the summer of 2021. Supported by a flurry of stimulus measures and successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, many reported names have made an impressive recovery from their pandemic lows.
As summer officially kicks off, here are three stocks well positioned to extend their run in the coming weeks due to strong seasonal demand.
1. Expedia
Performance to date: +26.1%
Market Capitalization: $24.5 billion
Expedia (NASDAQ:) is a leading online travel shopping company mainly used for consumer and small business travel. The popular list of websites includes Expedia.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Vrbo, Trivago, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, and CarRentals.com.
The online travel agency, which saw its shares collapse as the coronavirus crisis kicked into high gear in March 2020, has benefited from the recovery in the travel industry as economies around the world reopen and pandemic-era restrictions ease.
EXPE shares, which are up about 26% this year and 104% in the past 12 months, closed Tuesday at $166.93, ahead of the record high of $187.90 set on March 18. reached.
At current levels, the Seattle, Washington-based online vacation booking platform has a market cap of approximately $24.5 billion.
Expedia remains one of the best stocks to buy for investors looking to take advantage of the ongoing rebound in domestic demand for travel, especially as we enter the key summer months.
The online travel giant, which reported promising financial results in early May, then reports revenue after the US market closes on July 29.
Consensus favors a loss of $0.63 per share for the second quarter, significantly smaller than a loss of $4.00 per share in the same period a year ago.
Revenues are expected to reach $1.99 billion, up 251% from revenue from $566 million in the same quarter a year earlier, benefiting from a strengthening US travel market.
In addition to earnings per share and sales, investors will want to pay close attention to Expedia management's comments regarding their outlook for the remainder of the year and beyond.
In the company's first quarter earnings report, CEO Peter Kern sounded hopeful about the eventual full reopening of the travel market, saying he expects domestic and leisure demand to lead the recovery.
Honourable mentions: Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:), Airbnb (NASDAQ:), TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:)
2. Swimming pool company
Year-to-date performance: +23.4%
Market Capitalization: $18.4 Billion
Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:) is the world's leading distributor of pool supplies, equipment and related backyard leisure products. Serving approximately 120,000 wholesale customers worldwide, the company also provides supplies and services to retail stores and pool repair and maintenance centers.
POOL share – which was added to the stock in October 2020 – has been booming lately, jumping more than 23% since the start of the year and almost 70% in the last 12 months, as the COVID pandemic pushed homeowners to spend more on maintaining and replacing their backyard pools.
Shares, which hit a new all-time high of $464.03 Monday, ended last night at $459.76, giving the Covington, Louisiana-based pool products distributor a market cap of approximately $18.4 billion.
Pool Corp, which beat expectations for and revenue in the last quarter, is expected to report its next financial results on July 22, before US markets open.
Consensus estimates second quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $5.48, a 47% improvement from earnings per share of $3.72 in the same period a year ago.
Revenues are expected to hit an all-time high of $1.73 billion, up 35% from revenue of $1.28 billion in the same period a year earlier, as a result of increased demand for its residential pool products.
Beyond top and bottom-line numbers, investors hope Pool's management will maintain its optimistic view regarding the outlook for the full fiscal year 2021 as the pool supply company continues to benefit from favorable consumer trends and demand from the market. customer.
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Pool led for full-year earnings per share in the range of $11.85 to $12.60 in Q1, well ahead of previous earnings estimates of $9.12 to $9.62 per share.
Honourable Mentions: Hayward Holdings (NYSE:), Academy Sports Outdoors (NASDAQ:), Leslies (NASDAQ:)
3. Molson Coors
Performance to date: +21.5%
Market capitalization: $11.9 billion
The Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:) is the fifth largest brewer in the world, selling 15 brands in more than 100 countries. It was formed in 2005 through the merger of Molson of Canada and Coors of the United States.
Shares of the Chicago, Illinois-based brewer, which trade on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, have outperformed the broader market of late, gaining 21.5% to date in 2021 and 47% in the past 12 months, driven by growing demand for hard seltzers and a recovery in the beer business.
The iconic brewing company, which counts Coors Light, Miller Lite, Blue Moon, Peroni and Carling among its leading beer brands, recently added Topo Chico Hard Seltzer to its range. It has also introduced Vizzy Lemonade and Coors Seltzer as new additions to its product list.
TAP shares, which jumped to a pre-pandemic high of $61.48 on June 10, ended Tuesday's session at $54.92, giving it a valuation of about $11.9 billion.
As summer approaches, Molson remains one of the best stocks to own, given the seasonal jump in beer consumption as people around the world resume pre-pandemic leisure activities, such as going out to bars and restaurants and attending sporting events.
Molson, which posted a surprising profit in the first at the end of April, is expected to report its second quarter results on July 28, before the US market opens.
Consensus calls for EPS of $1.34 on revenue of $2.81 billion, up nearly 12% year-over-year, again driven by rising demand and strengthening fundamentals the beer industry.
Nielsen data shows US retail sales of hard seltzer increased 103% to $4.52 billion in the year ended April 24. That is a growth of 585% compared to two years ago.
Honourable Mentions: Boston Beer (NYSE:), Anheuser Busch (NYSE:), Constellation Brands (NYSE:)
