United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Earns “Buy” Rating from The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $119.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna raised their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.61.

United Airlines Price Performance

UAL opened at $91.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.50. The firm has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.39. United Airlines has a twelve month low of $37.02 and a twelve month high of $93.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The company had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that United Airlines will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $1,407,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,565.28. The trade was a 30.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value 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 approximately $2,190,744. This trade represents a 32.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 144,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,902,000 after purchasing an additional 10,720 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 258,032 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $12,354,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 356,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $15,771,000 after purchasing an additional 42,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 131.1% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 84,390 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 355,990 shares during the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by 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.