Raymond James Issues Positive Forecast for United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Stock Price

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) had its target price upped by Raymond James from $90.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on UAL. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $139.00 target price on shares of United Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their target price on United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Airlines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.28.

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of UAL stock opened at $97.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.18 and a 200-day moving average of $64.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. United Airlines has a one year low of $37.02 and a one year high of $105.09.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Airlines will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Airlines news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $5,707,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 63,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,049,536.88. This trade represents a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were 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 owns 30,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,190,744. This represents a 32.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,000 shares of company stock worth $8,158,900. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UAL. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,320,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $588,874,000 after acquiring an additional 78,470 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in United Airlines by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,112,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $177,604,000 after purchasing an additional 908,558 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in United Airlines by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,064,000 after buying an additional 11,743 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 87.2% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 18,912 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 8,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of United Airlines by 293.6% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 37,389 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.