United Airlines Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:UAL)

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 116,153 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 150% compared to the average volume of 46,476 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UAL. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of United Airlines from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of United Airlines from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of United Airlines from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in United Airlines by 26.6% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in United Airlines by 59.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 682 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in United Airlines by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC lifted its stake in United Airlines by 2.3% in the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 11,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. 69.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Airlines Trading Up 12.4 %

UAL stock opened at $72.02 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.33. United Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $33.68 and a fifty-two week high of $73.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.44.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 33.90%. The firm had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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