JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.31.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on JBLU shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $4.50 target price on the stock. Seaport Research Partners upgraded JetBlue Airways from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen raised JetBlue Airways from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at JetBlue Airways

In other news, Director Thomas Winkelmann sold 35,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total value of $166,723.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,881.30. This trade represents a 72.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.41, for a total transaction of $173,120.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,941.39. This represents a 47.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of JetBlue Airways

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBLU. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,124,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,166,000 after buying an additional 5,591,470 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 1,157.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,356,021 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,270,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,226 shares during the last quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,487,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $23,212,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814,870 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new position in JetBlue Airways during the 4th quarter valued at $8,795,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 235.9% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,246,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,500 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JetBlue Airways Trading Up 6.1%

JBLU stock opened at $5.92 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.11. JetBlue Airways has a fifty-two week low of $3.87 and a fifty-two week high of $6.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.25, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of -3.05 and a beta of 1.73.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.15). JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 7.78% and a negative return on equity of 32.76%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.59) EPS. JetBlue Airways’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways will post -2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a low-cost scheduled passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Since commencing service in 2000, the carrier has built a reputation for combining competitive fares with enhanced onboard amenities, including free in-flight entertainment, complimentary snacks and beverages, and onboard Wi-Fi. JetBlue operates a single fleet type of Airbus A320 family and Embraer 190 aircraft, which supports its focus on efficiency and operational consistency.

The airline’s core offerings include economy-class travel and a premium business-class product known as Mint, which features lie-flat seats, curated culinary options and elevated service on select transcontinental and international routes.