JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Upgraded by Citigroup to “Neutral” Rating

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) was upgraded by stock analysts at Citigroup from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $6.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.85% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on JBLU. Susquehanna boosted their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.55 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $3.50 to $4.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.27.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

JetBlue Airways stock opened at $5.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $4.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.77. JetBlue Airways has a 52 week low of $3.34 and a 52 week high of $7.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The transportation company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by ($0.04). JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 6.64% and a negative return on equity of 24.93%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.21) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways will post -0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JBLU. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in JetBlue Airways by 131.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 90,534 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 51,377 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in JetBlue Airways by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 185,801 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 8,053 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 6.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,789,448 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $23,085,000 after purchasing an additional 274,892 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of JetBlue Airways during the first quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the second quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.