Shares of JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU, Financial) fell 0.44% to be valued at $19.05 in trading on Friday. The increasingly rising oil prices have influenced the airline sector and put pressure on JetBlue as well the other players.
Upcoming quarterly report
JetBlue is expected to report its next quarter earnings on April 23rd. In its last reported quarter earnings on January 29 an EPS of $0.26 was reported against a consensus estimate of $0.23, beating the average estimate by $0.03. When compared to the same quarter of the last fiscal year, an increase of $0.09 was observed.
JetBlue Airways Corporation’s current short interest stands at 48.72 million shares, which has increased by 5% from the same period of March last year. Approximately 19% of JetBlue’s shares are being short sold. The number of days needed to cover the short positions stand at 5.9 days, with a 10 days average volume of 8.38 million shares.
JetBlue, however, saw a strong earnings growth of 85.71%, and has seen a surge of 110.73% in stock value over the last year. It has outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 Index in the same period. As far as the future of JetBlue’s stock goes, analysts expect JBLU to continue moving higher despite having enjoyed a nice gain in the past year.
JetBlue Airways Corp reported a very prominent EPS in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter last year. There has been a pattern of positive EPS growth shown by JetBlue over the past two years. The company has been able to increase its bottom line by earning $1.19 compared to $0.51 in 2014.
Industry analysis
The airline industry has experienced volatility in 2015 due to its performance being tied partially to the oil prices that keeps fluctuating. Some of the largest publically traded companies that are being affected by oil prices in the airline industry include Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY, Financial), United Continental Holdings (UAL, Financial), JetBlue Airways and SkyWest (SKYW, Financial). Fluctuating oil prices have added uncertainty to costs and profitability. Airplane retirements are sped up from elevated fuel prices advantage and boost the value of operating efficiences that newer planes such as the Boeing Dreamliner can aspire to achieve.
Stock Performance
JetBlue’s net income has risen by 87.2% from $47 million to $88 million. The company’s net income growth from the same quarter a year ago has sharply exceeded that of the S&P 500 as well as the aviation industry average.
The company’s revenue growth lags behind the industry average of 22.1%. yet compared to the same quarter in 2014, revenues were higher by 5.9% and this has helped boost the EPS.
Company profile
JetBlue Airways Corporation provides nonstop passenger flight services using its fleet of Airbus (EADSY, Financial) A320 aircrafts. The airline’s headquarters are in New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport and fly to multiple destinations in America.
Analysis
Stocks of JetBlue Airways Corp are being rated a BUY. The convergence to positive investment measured is the basis of the rating. JetBlue’s strengths lie in many areas such as its solid stock price performance, impressive earnings per share growth record, sharp growth in net income, revenue growth and extremely attractive valuation levels. Weaknesses such as weak operating cash flow can be mitigated via the company’s fundamental strengths. Currently this looks like a good addition to a portfolio.
