JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a bearish view of JetBlue: Thirteen firms assign the stock an average “Reduce” rating, including six sells and seven holds. The average 12-month price target is approximately $5.41.
• JetBlue’s stock opened at $4.45, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the airline continues to show significant leverage with a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04 and negative profitability metrics.
• The company modestly beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting a $0.66 loss per share versus the expected $0.69 loss, while revenue reached $2.70 billion, up 14.5% year over year. CFO Ursula Hurley also sold 77,253 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Reduce" by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.4136.

Several research analysts have recently commented on JBLU shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on JetBlue Airways from $6.00 to $6.75 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners cut JetBlue Airways from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ursula Hurley sold 77,253 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total value of $444,977.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 211,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,215,930.24. The trade was a 26.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,253 shares of company stock valued at $465,897. Company insiders own 2.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of JBLU. U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 17.2% in the first quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 5,542,536 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $24,498,000 after acquiring an additional 813,782 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,022,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,549,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,336,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,748,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

Shares of JetBlue Airways stock opened at $4.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -1.86 and a beta of 1.70. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $5.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.70. JetBlue Airways has a 1 year low of $3.87 and a 1 year high of $6.62.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by $0.03. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 9.32% and a negative return on equity of 45.92%. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.21) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation NASDAQ: JBLU is a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada and select destinations in Europe. The company serves leisure and business travelers through a network connecting major cities, focus cities and vacation destinations.

JetBlue offers several travel products and services, including standard economy seating, premium Mint service on select routes, and EvenMore seating with additional legroom and other benefits.

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