JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $4.40 to $6.60 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 11.96% from the company’s current price.

JBLU has been the subject of several other research reports. Seaport Research Partners upgraded JetBlue Airways from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on JetBlue Airways in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $4.50 price target on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of JetBlue Airways from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $3.50 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.23.

JetBlue Airways Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:JBLU traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.89. 16,984,005 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,172,520. JetBlue Airways has a 52-week low of $3.87 and a 52-week high of $6.50. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.25, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.04.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.87) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 32.76% and a negative net margin of 7.78%.JetBlue Airways’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.59) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that JetBlue Airways will post -2.67 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Vivek Sharma sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $191,941.39. This represents a 47.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Winkelmann sold 35,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total transaction of $166,723.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,379 shares in the company, valued at $62,881.30. This trade represents a 72.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JetBlue Airways

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 326,990 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 13,232 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in JetBlue Airways by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 23,504 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in JetBlue Airways by 10.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,954 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 39,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.