United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) PT Raised to $85.00

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from $68.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.63% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.88.

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UAL opened at $74.15 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.38 and a 200 day moving average of $49.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.44. United Airlines has a 12-month low of $33.68 and a 12-month high of $74.95.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 33.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wahed Invest LLC raised its stake in United Airlines by 13.7% during the first quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of United Airlines by 26.6% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of United Airlines by 59.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 682 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of United Airlines by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,714 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,763,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, XML Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of United Airlines by 2.3% in the first quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 11,970 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

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.