United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) Short Interest Up 32.1% in February

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,670,000 shares, an increase of 32.1% from the February 13th total of 13,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,750,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of UAL traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $71.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,041,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,607,547. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.74. United Airlines has a 12 month low of $37.02 and a 12 month high of $116.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.87.

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. The firm had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 32.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on United Airlines from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on United Airlines from $142.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of United Airlines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in United Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $137,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of United Airlines by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,320,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $588,874,000 after buying an additional 78,470 shares in the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA purchased a new position in shares of United Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,359,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in United Airlines by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,112,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $177,604,000 after acquiring an additional 908,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in United Airlines by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,064,000 after acquiring an additional 11,743 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

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.