StockNews.com Upgrades United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on UAL. Bank of America boosted their price target on United Airlines from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group began coverage on United Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a neutral rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on United Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James boosted their price target on United Airlines from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded United Airlines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $66.53.

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of UAL opened at $52.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.69. United Airlines has a one year low of $33.68 and a one year high of $58.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.51, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.13 and a 200 day moving average of $41.75.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.39. United Airlines had a return on equity of 39.85% and a net margin of 4.90%. The business had revenue of $13.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. United Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 9.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Airlines news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.86, for a total transaction of $762,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $2,925,060.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Airlines by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,159,899 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,637,000 after buying an additional 1,005,170 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,114,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of United Airlines by 23.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,649,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $196,679,000 after buying an additional 885,199 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Airlines by 1,993.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 861,835 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $36,456,000 after buying an additional 820,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of United Airlines by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,143,202 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $170,974,000 after buying an additional 812,257 shares during the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.