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

Shares of JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.5350.

Several research firms recently issued reports on JBLU. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Monday, July 6th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded JetBlue Airways from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded JetBlue Airways from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at JetBlue Airways

In other JetBlue Airways news, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 77,253 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.76, for a total transaction 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 $1,215,930.24. This trade represents a 26.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,941.39. The trade was a 47.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 111,253 shares of company stock worth $629,597 over the last ninety days. 2.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in JetBlue Airways by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,728,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $21,516,000 after buying an additional 219,622 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in JetBlue Airways by 72.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 839,551 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,820,000 after buying an additional 353,606 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the fourth quarter valued at $1,333,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 235.9% during the first 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 period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 185.8% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 462,258 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 300,522 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:JBLU opened at $6.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.20. The company has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.73. 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 one year low of $3.87 and a one year high of $6.50.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.66) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by $0.03. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 45.92% and a negative net margin of 9.32%.The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.21) EPS. JetBlue Airways’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About JetBlue Airways

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.