United Airlines’ (UAL) Buy Rating Reiterated at UBS Group

UBS Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has a $139.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on UAL. Susquehanna boosted their target price on United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.15.

United Airlines Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:UAL opened at $96.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.39. United Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $37.02 and a fifty-two week high of $101.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.13.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Airlines will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total transaction of $1,407,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,565.28. The trade was a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $5,707,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,049,536.88. The trade was a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,158,900 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,321 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in United Airlines by 13.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC increased its stake in United Airlines by 13.7% in the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Commerce Bank increased its stake in United Airlines by 1.1% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 17,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in United Airlines by 31.4% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 930 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. 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.