Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $11.38 Million Position in JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of JetBlue Airways Co. (NASDAQ:JBLU) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,447,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,452 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.42% of JetBlue Airways worth $11,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of JetBlue Airways in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of JetBlue Airways by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,478 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in JetBlue Airways in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in JetBlue Airways by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in JetBlue Airways during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

JetBlue Airways Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of JBLU opened at $6.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.52. JetBlue Airways Co. has a 12 month low of $4.49 and a 12 month high of $8.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -2.78 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.08.

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 9.31% and a negative net margin of 8.57%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.19) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that JetBlue Airways Co. will post -0.69 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JBLU. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $5.50 price target on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of JetBlue Airways in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of JetBlue Airways from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded JetBlue Airways from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on JetBlue Airways from $5.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.26.

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.