United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $55.62, but opened at $57.94. United Airlines shares last traded at $59.24, with a volume of 2,139,691 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on UAL. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of United Airlines from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.59.

United Airlines Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $46.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.30.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The transportation company reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.97 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $14.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.04 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 33.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 9.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in United Airlines by 34,342.9% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new position in United Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in United Airlines by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 43,865 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in United Airlines by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 55,498 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 12,727 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its position in United Airlines by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 33,087 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 14,985 shares during the period. 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.