United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.70.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $120.00) on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Airlines

In other United Airlines news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $1,407,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $5,707,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,049,536.88. This represents a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in United Airlines by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,320,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $588,874,000 after purchasing an additional 78,470 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of United Airlines by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,457,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,589 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Airlines by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,311,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $477,526,000 after purchasing an additional 168,498 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 176.1% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 4,245,120 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $242,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Airlines by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,112,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $177,604,000 after buying an additional 908,558 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of UAL opened at $103.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.44. United Airlines has a 1-year low of $37.02 and a 1-year high of $116.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.51.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.30. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 34.03%. The firm had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 12.56 EPS for the current year.

United Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About United Airlines

United Airlines Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional fleets. It also offers catering, ground handling, flight academy, and maintenance services for third parties.