Contrasting JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) & American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for American Airlines Group and JetBlue Airways, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Airlines Group	2	10	9	0	2.33
JetBlue Airways	4	9	1	0	1.79

American Airlines Group currently has a consensus price target of $17.28, suggesting a potential upside of 31.19%. JetBlue Airways has a consensus price target of $4.98, suggesting a potential upside of 32.42%. Given JetBlue Airways’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe JetBlue Airways is more favorable than American Airlines Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Airlines Group and JetBlue Airways”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Airlines Group	$54.63 billion	0.16	$111.00 million	($0.73)	-18.04
JetBlue Airways	$9.06 billion	0.16	-$602.00 million	($2.68)	-1.40

American Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than JetBlue Airways. American Airlines Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than JetBlue Airways, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares American Airlines Group and JetBlue Airways’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Airlines Group	-0.79%	-9.11%	-0.38%
JetBlue Airways	-10.01%	-56.96%	-5.96%

Volatility and Risk

American Airlines Group has a beta of 1.45, indicating that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JetBlue Airways has a beta of 1.9, indicating that its share price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

52.4% of American Airlines Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.7% of JetBlue Airways shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of American Airlines Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of JetBlue Airways shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

American Airlines Group beats JetBlue Airways on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines Group Inc. is a holding company whose principal business is operating a global airline through American Airlines and its regional partners. The company provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, along with related services such as loyalty programs and travel offerings. Its network connects destinations across the United States and serves markets in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Regional flights are operated under the American Eagle brand by affiliated carriers.

About JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways Corporation is a U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Long Island City, New York. Founded in 1998, the company began flying in 2000 and operates scheduled service across the United States and to destinations in the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada and Europe. The airline offers economy and premium travel options, including its Mint business-class service on select routes and additional-legroom seating. JetBlue also provides loyalty rewards through its TrueBlue program and sells vacation packages combining flights with other travel services.