When Will Boeing Split Its Stock Again?

Boeing (NYSE: BA) has benefited from several favorable trends in the aerospace and defense industry. Orders for commercial aircraft have soared as airlines have become immensely profitable, while prospects for the military side of the business have also taken off because of planned budget increases from the federal government. These factors have taken Boeing stock above the $200-per-share level, and that has reawakened discussion about whether a long-awaited stock split might finally be right around the corner. Although it's been 20 years since Boeing last did a stock split, now would be a reasonable time for the aerospace giant to return to its historical practice.

Boeing has a history of stock splits that goes back 65 years. Between 1952 and 1977, Boeing split its stock five times, typically using a 2-for-1 ratio for the split. Starting in 1979, Boeing started to use 3-for-2 splits more frequently. The most recent split came in 1997, with a final 2-for-1 move for investors. Investors who owned 100 shares of Boeing stock before its 1952 split would own almost 36,500 shares of stock today merely because of stock splits.

As with many stocks, Boeing tended to do stock splits when it made sense from a trading liquidity perspective. Investing in the past usually involved round lots of 100 shares, making it useful for companies to keep their share prices from getting too expensive in order to give investors access to shares. Boeing would often do a 3-for-2 split when shares climbed toward the $70s, bringing share prices back toward $50. The most recent 1997 move came after Boeing traded into the triple digits, and again, the split pulled Boeing share prices downward toward a more tradeable level.

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Source: Fool.com