NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- JetBlue Airways (JBLU) - Get Report shares are up 5.28% to $18.05 in trading on Thursday after the company reported that February traffic increased 10% over the previous year.

The company said that it expects its first quarter unit revenue to increase between 3% and 4%, affected by flight cancellations due to the multiple winter storms that affected much of the east coast this winter. 

The company also said that it expects available seat miles to increase between 9% and 10% year over year, down from its previous guidance of between 11% and 13% growth.

TheStreet Ratings team rates JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of B. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP (JBLU) a BUY. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income, revenue growth and attractive valuation levels. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• Powered by its strong earnings growth of 85.71% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 99.54% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the stock's future course, although almost any stock can fall in a broad market decline, JBLU should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed a very nice gain in the past year.
• JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORP increased its bottom line by earning $1.19 versus $0.51 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.65 versus $1.19).
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Airlines industry. The net income increased by 87.2% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $47.00 million to $88.00 million.
• JBLU's revenue growth trails the industry average of 22.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 5.9%. Growth in the company's revenue appears to have helped boost the earnings per share.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: JBLU Ratings Report