United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Dbs Bank

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) was upgraded by analysts at Dbs Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on United Airlines from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $139.00 target price on shares of United Airlines in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.15.

United Airlines Price Performance

NASDAQ UAL opened at $96.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $31.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.39. United Airlines has a 52-week low of $37.02 and a 52-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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.42.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 4.94%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that United Airlines will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other United Airlines news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $5,707,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,049,536.88. This represents a 48.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,158,900 in the last three months. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UAL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 41.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,112,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $177,604,000 after buying an additional 908,558 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in United Airlines by 87.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 18,912 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after purchasing an additional 8,808 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 2,456 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in United Airlines by 1,886.6% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 52,584 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,000,000 after buying an additional 49,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Senator Investment Group LP grew its holdings in United Airlines by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 1,046,051 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,901,000 after buying an additional 296,051 shares in the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.