JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Raised to Buy at Seaport Research Partners

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) was upgraded by Seaport Research Partners from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $8.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock. Seaport Research Partners’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 41.34% from the company’s current price.

JBLU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of JetBlue Airways from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $3.50 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $4.50 target price for the company. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $4.88.

JetBlue Airways Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:JBLU opened at $5.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.65, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.03 and a 200-day moving average of $4.82. JetBlue Airways has a one year low of $3.34 and a one year high of $6.50.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by ($0.04). JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 25.62% and a negative net margin of 6.64%.The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.21) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of JetBlue Airways by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 12,124,292 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,166,000 after purchasing an additional 5,591,470 shares during the period. Par Capital Management Inc. raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 105.3% in 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 buying an additional 2,814,870 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,728,754 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,516,000 after buying an additional 219,622 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in JetBlue Airways by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,513,312 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $19,091,000 after buying an additional 412,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew 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 in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.