United Airlines’ (UAL) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James reissued their outperform rating on shares of United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $130.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $120.00.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on UAL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $88.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Airlines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.20.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of United Airlines stock opened at $105.00 on Thursday. United Airlines has a twelve month low of $37.02 and a twelve month high of $116.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.14.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $14.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that United Airlines will post 12.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Airlines

In other United Airlines news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $5,707,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,049,536.88. The trade was a 48.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 57,694 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,585,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $203,000. Leisure Capital Management acquired a new position in United Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $224,000. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Pacific Sage Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $297,000. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.