American Airlines Group (OTCMKTS:AAMRQ) & United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Critical Analysis

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and American Airlines Group (OTCMKTS:AAMRQ) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for United Airlines and American Airlines Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Airlines	0	2	16	0	2.89
American Airlines Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

United Airlines presently has a consensus price target of $157.74, suggesting a potential upside of 42.62%. Given United Airlines’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe United Airlines is more favorable than American Airlines Group.

Profitability

This table compares United Airlines and American Airlines Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Airlines	5.56%	19.05%	3.72%
American Airlines Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

69.7% of United Airlines shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of United Airlines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares United Airlines and American Airlines Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Airlines	$59.07 billion	0.61	$3.35 billion	$10.69	10.35
American Airlines Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

United Airlines has higher revenue and earnings than American Airlines Group.

Summary

United Airlines beats American Airlines Group on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company was formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to United Airlines Holdings, Inc. in June 2019. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines Group Inc., formerly AMR Corporation, operates in the airline industry. The Company’s principal subsidiary is American Airlines, Inc. (American). As of December 31, 2011, American provided scheduled jet service to approximately 160 destinations throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and Asia. AMR Eagle Holding Corporation (AMR Eagle), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, owns two regional airlines, which do business as American Eagle-American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines, Inc. (collectively, the American Eagle carriers). American also contracts with an independently owned regional airline, which does business as AmericanConnection (the AmericanConnection carrier). As of December 31, 2011, AMR Eagle operated approximately 1,500 daily departures, offering scheduled passenger service to over 175 destinations in North America, Mexico and the Caribbean.