United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after Raymond James raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $70.00. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Approximately 9,046,176 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 9,844,872 shares.The stock last traded at $50.34 and had previously closed at $48.74.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on UAL. UBS Group started coverage on shares of United Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of United Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Airlines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.53.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,550,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,601,764,000 after purchasing an additional 700,850 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new position in shares of United Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at about $351,299,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,018,196 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $310,174,000 after purchasing an additional 146,791 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,649,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $196,679,000 after purchasing an additional 885,199 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,159,899 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $171,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.49.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $13.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.55 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 39.85% and a net margin of 4.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.