United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $125.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. United Airlines traded as high as $94.47 and last traded at $93.86, with a volume of 2635453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.38.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on UAL. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on United Airlines from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $1,044,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,190,744. This trade represents a 32.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $1,407,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,565.28. This trade represents a 30.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,502,761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $885,912,000 after acquiring an additional 429,501 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised 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 acquiring an additional 78,470 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in United Airlines by 12.4% in the third 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 raised its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,311,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $477,526,000 after purchasing an additional 168,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in United Airlines by 29.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,601,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $272,559,000 after buying an additional 1,263,604 shares during the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Airlines Trading Up 4.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.77. The company has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.39. 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 (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The firm had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.