Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stock Holdings in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) by 86.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,205 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 437,945 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in United Airlines were worth $6,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UAL. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in United Airlines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in United Airlines by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,739 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake 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. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of United Airlines by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 710 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in United Airlines by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Melius Research upgraded shares of United Airlines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of United Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on United Airlines from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Airlines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $5,707,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at $6,049,536.88. The trade was a 48.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Airlines Price Performance

United Airlines stock opened at $109.00 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $35.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.43. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $37.02 and a one year high of $116.00.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $14.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. United Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 13.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.