United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Raymond James

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Raymond James in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $130.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $120.00. Raymond James’ price target suggests a potential upside of 21.57% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on UAL. Citigroup boosted their price target on United Airlines from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on United Airlines from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $107.08.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of UAL opened at $106.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $35.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. United Airlines has a 12 month low of $37.02 and a 12 month high of $116.00.

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

United Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $5,707,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,049,536.88. This represents a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Winch Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in United Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in United Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in United Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of United Airlines by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Company Profile

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.