Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares are grabbing plenty of investor attention after engineering a strong turnaround in 2024.
In early afternoon trade today, shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock are swapping hands for $8.34 apiece, up 0.9%.
As you can see on the chart below, that sees Qantas stock up a whopping 56% year to date.
For some context, the ASX 200 has gained just over 7% in 2024.
But after such a strong run, and with Qantas shares now trading 15% above their pre-COVID levels, is the ASX 200 airline a buy in November?
For some further insight into that question, we defer to Argonaut's Harrison Massey (courtesy of The Bull).
Are Qantas shares a buy this month?
Commenting on the airline's strong performance this year, Massey said, "Qantas shares have rallied in 2024 on the back of strong domestic travel profitability and weakening crude oil prices.'
He noted, "The shares have risen from $5.35 on January 2 to trade at $8.03 on October 31."
At current levels, Qantas stock has gained 4% since the figure he quoted for 31 October.
Massey added, "The airline is enjoying stable travel demand for the first time in many years. If it can continue to deliver solid international travel figures, the share price should hold up."
Then there's the potential for a return of those long-missing dividends.
Qantas last paid dividends in 2019, before the global pandemic knocked the stuffing out of the travel industry and sent its share price crashing by 33%. In 2019, however, Qantas shares traded on a 4.5% fully franked dividend yield. That figure will be a bit higher or lower depending on the prevailing share price on any particular day that year.
But Massey says there are good reasons to believe we'll see a return of that welcome passive income.
"The consensus is the airline will re-instate a dividend as early as the first half of fiscal year 2025," he said.
So, should I buy stock in the ASX 200 airline in November?
Well, Massey is a bit on the fence here with a hold recommendation on Qantas stock.
FY 2024 results snapshot
For its full-year 2024 financial results (FY 2024) Qantas reported revenue of $21.9 billion, up 10.7% year on year. Profit went the other way, however, down 16% from FY 2023 to $2.08 billion.
Investors didn't appear fazed by the profit dip, sending Qantas shares up 0.8% on the day the company reported those results.
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson sounded a positive note on the company's outlook, saying:
Our strong financial performance and balance sheet will allow us to continue to invest in our largest ever fleet renewal program, which will benefit our customers and people, as well as delivering shareholder returns.
