United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.94.

A number of analysts have issued reports on UAL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna increased their target price on United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on United Airlines from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of United Airlines from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Insider Transactions at United Airlines

In other news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $1,044,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,190,744. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of United Airlines by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,502,761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $885,912,000 after purchasing an additional 429,501 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 29.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,601,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $272,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,604 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of United Airlines by 489.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,295,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905,664 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of United Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $103,354,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,324,398 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $75,570,000 after acquiring an additional 847,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Price Performance

NASDAQ:UAL opened at $77.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. United Airlines has a 52 week low of $36.23 and a 52 week high of $81.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.26.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that United Airlines will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

United Airlines announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management 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.