If You Invested $1,000 In JetBlue Airways Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the past year have generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY total return over the past 12 months is 36.5%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

JetBlue’s Turbulent Run: One company that has been a decent investment in the past year has been the regional airline JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU.

JetBlue and other travel stocks experienced a near worst-case scenario when the COVID-19 breakout occurred in early 2020.

Travel demand fell to nearly 0% during the worst of the pandemic. Vaccine rollouts in early 2020 had airline stock investors confident about a recovery of the industry in the second half of the year. In fact, in July, JetBlue guided for a year-over-two revenue decline of just 5% to 9% in the third quarter.

But while air travel numbers remain well above 2020 levels, the emergence of the delta variant of COVID-19 has somewhat derailed the travel recovery in recent months.

In 2019, JetBlue generated $1.91 in EPS on $8 billion in revenue.

In 2020, those numbers plummeted to a $4.88 EPS loss on just $2.9 billion in revenue. JetBlue’s long-term debt also ballooned from $1.9 billion in 2019 to $4 billion in 2020.

At the beginning of 2020, JetBlue shares were trading at $18.90. By the beginning of March, the stock had dropped to $15.82 after news of the virus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic.

On March 16, JetBlue shares dropped below $10. The stock ultimately bottomed at $6.61 on March 23, the same day the S&P 500 hit its pandemic low. On March 27, airlines received $25 billion in federal bailouts.

Airlines got another $15 billion in government bailouts in December. By that time, vaccine optimism had boosted JetBlue’s share price back up to above $15.

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JetBlue In 2021, Beyond: In April 2021, JetBlue shares briefly surpassed their 2020 pre-pandemic highs, touching $21.96 before pulling back to $16.27. Much of the recent concerns that have weighed on airline stocks have concerned the potential negative impact of the delta variant of COVID-19 on economic reopening and travel demand recovery.

JetBlue Airlines investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated a nice return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in JetBlue stock bought on September 27, 2020, would be worth about $1,407 today.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting JetBlue's stock to gain altitude once again in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 14 analysts covering the stock is $20, suggesting 23.2% upside from current levels.

Photo: JetBlue