Critical Review: JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) and Flughafen Wien (OTCMKTS:VIAAY)

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) and Flughafen Wien (OTCMKTS:VIAAY) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

83.7% of JetBlue Airways shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of JetBlue Airways shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares JetBlue Airways and Flughafen Wien’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JetBlue Airways	-4.22%	-15.59%	-2.34%
Flughafen Wien	20.50%	13.42%	9.31%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for JetBlue Airways and Flughafen Wien, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JetBlue Airways	5	7	0	0	1.58
Flughafen Wien	0	0	0	0	0.00

JetBlue Airways presently has a consensus target price of $5.28, suggesting a potential upside of 8.09%. Given JetBlue Airways’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe JetBlue Airways is more favorable than Flughafen Wien.

Volatility and Risk

JetBlue Airways has a beta of 1.82, suggesting that its share price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Flughafen Wien has a beta of -0.05, suggesting that its share price is 105% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares JetBlue Airways and Flughafen Wien”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JetBlue Airways	$9.28 billion	0.19	-$795.00 million	($1.10)	-4.44
Flughafen Wien	$1.14 billion	3.38	$234.01 million	$0.72	15.95

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

Summary

Flughafen Wien beats JetBlue Airways on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Long Island City, New York.

About Flughafen Wien

Flughafen Wien Aktiengesellschaft, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction and operation of civil airports and related facilities in Austria. The company operates through five segments: Airport, Handling & Security Services, Retail & Properties, Malta, and Other. It manages the Vienna airport. The company's Airport segment operates and maintains aircraft movement areas and terminals, as well as equipment and facilities for passenger and baggage handling, as well as security controls for passengers. This segment also offers various services to support airport operations, deals with emergencies and disruptions, and ensures security. Its Handling & Security services segment provides various services for the handling of aircraft and passengers on scheduled and charter flights, as well as for the handling of general aviation aircraft and passengers. This segment also operates the general aviation center; and provides security controls for passengers and hand luggage. The company's Retail & Properties segment offers services that support airport operations, including shopping, food and beverages, VIP, lounges, and parking, as well as develops and markets properties. This segment offers services to passengers, users of parking facilities, hotel guests, conference participants, employees at the site, and meeters and greeters. Its Malta segment operates Malta airport; and provides aviation and parking services, as well as rents retail and office space. The Other segment offers technical and repair, energy supply and waste disposal, telecommunication and information technology, electromechanical and building, construction management, and consulting services, as well as construction and maintenance services for infrastructure facilities. The company is headquartered in Schwechat, Austria.