United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.30 EPS

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.30, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. United Airlines updated its Q1 guidance to $0.75-1.25 EPS and its FY25 guidance to $11.50-13.50 EPS.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of UAL stock traded up $3.14 on Tuesday, reaching $110.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,276,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,451,333. The company has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. United Airlines has a 1 year low of $37.02 and a 1 year high of $110.92.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Dbs Bank upgraded United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on United Airlines from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Airlines

In other United Airlines news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at $6,049,536.88. This represents 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 this link. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $1,407,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,565.28. This trade represents a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.