Berenberg stays at 'buy' on Boeing as it waits for decision on 737 and dividend

A decision by Boeing to reduce or cancel production of its 737 Max jet until US regulators clear it for a 'return-to-service' could result in "substantial additional charges", according to analysts at Berenberg.

To date, the aerospace giant had already incurred in a roughly $9.2bn hit linked to the grounding of the MAX.

According to reports, a decision on the 727 Max was scheduled for Monday or Tuesday and another on its quarterly dividend payout in the next few days.

"The group's total free cash flow outflow in Q2 and Q3 (since the grounding) is c$4bn, but given but given current liquidity, the strength of the portfolio excluding the MAX and the expected timeframe for its RTS (early 2020), we think suspension of the dividend would send a very negative signal to the market, perhaps hinting at increased duration and negative impacts related to the MAX situation," the analysts said.

Among the companies across Boeing's supply chain that might be impacted more if 737 output was slowed further or halted were Spirit Aerosystems, Safran and Senior.

"It is impossible at this stage to predict what a suspension might mean to individual businesses (it depends on Boeing’s plan for maintaining supply chain health)."

Berenberg had a 'buy' recommendation and $410.0 target price for Boeing's shares.