United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $98.00 to $122.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.62% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on UAL. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on United Airlines from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.15.

United Airlines Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UAL opened at $96.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.07 and its 200 day moving average is $56.85. United Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $37.02 and a fifty-two week high of $101.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.79.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Airlines

In other news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 30,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,190,744. This represents a 32.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total transaction of $1,407,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,158,900. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 5.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,161,931 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $55,634,000 after purchasing an additional 64,542 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 16.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 8.3% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 52,457 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,512,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its position in United Airlines by 2.3% during the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 11,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in United Airlines during the first quarter worth about $245,000. 69.69% of the stock is 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.