Essential Planning LLC. Takes Position in JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU)

Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 81,250 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JBLU. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 30,416 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 130.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,478 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 85.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,353 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 3,857 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in JetBlue Airways in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on JBLU shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of JetBlue Airways from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, JetBlue Airways currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nik Mittal purchased 100,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $614,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 116,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,960.02. This represents a 608.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ursula L. Hurley sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.50, for a total transaction of $112,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,747.50. This trade represents a 26.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

JetBlue Airways Price Performance

Shares of JetBlue Airways stock opened at $5.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.61. JetBlue Airways Co. has a twelve month low of $4.50 and a twelve month high of $8.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.35 and a beta of 1.80.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative net margin of 8.57% and a negative return on equity of 9.31%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.19) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that JetBlue Airways Co. will post -0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JetBlue Airways Company Profile

JetBlue Airways Corporation provides air transportation services. The company operates a fleet of Airbus A321, Airbus A220, Airbus A321neo, Airbus A320 Restyled, Airbus A320, Airbus A321 with Mint, Airbus A321neo with Mint, Airbus A321neoLR with Mint, and Embraer E190 aircraft. It also serves 100 destinations across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America, Canada, and Europe.