Empowered Funds LLC Buys 107,293 Shares of JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU - Free Report) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,396,530 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 107,293 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.40% of JetBlue Airways worth $10,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of JetBlue Airways by 136.1% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 245,657 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 141,605 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 56.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 922,925 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,054,000 after purchasing an additional 334,032 shares during the period. Jade Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in JetBlue Airways by 800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC now owns 450,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in JetBlue Airways by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,661,742 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,141,000 after buying an additional 663,865 shares during the period. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd bought a new position in JetBlue Airways in the third quarter valued at approximately $794,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JBLU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna cut their price target on JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on JetBlue Airways from $6.85 to $7.60 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $5.50 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Nik Mittal acquired 100,000 shares of JetBlue Airways stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.14 per share, for a total transaction of $614,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 116,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $714,960.02. The trade was a 608.16 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

JetBlue Airways Stock Performance

JBLU stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $6.61. The stock had a trading volume of 16,814,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,240,449. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.45. JetBlue Airways Co. has a fifty-two week low of $4.49 and a fifty-two week high of $8.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -2.82 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The transportation company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.42) by $0.21. JetBlue Airways had a negative return on equity of 9.29% and a negative net margin of 8.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Analysts predict that JetBlue Airways Co. will post -0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About JetBlue Airways

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.