United Airlines Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:UAL)

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 116,153 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 150% compared to the average daily volume of 46,476 put options.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UAL opened at $72.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.17, a PEG 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 $73.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 33.90%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Analysts expect that United Airlines will post 9.88 EPS for the current year.

United Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of United Airlines by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 18,502,761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $885,912,000 after buying an additional 429,501 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of United Airlines by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,601,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $272,559,000 after buying an additional 1,263,604 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in United Airlines by 489.2% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,295,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $111,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,905,664 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in United Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at $103,354,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in United Airlines by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,161,931 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,634,000 after purchasing an additional 64,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target 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 objective on shares of United Airlines from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.37.

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.