TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Stock Price

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) had its price target upped by investment analysts at TD Cowen from $142.00 to $165.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 57.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on UAL. Bank of America raised their price target on United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on United Airlines from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of United Airlines from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.20.

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UAL opened at $105.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. United Airlines has a 1-year low of $37.02 and a 1-year high of $116.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $99.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.14.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.30. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 32.26%. The business had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. United Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that United Airlines will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to reacquire up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at United Airlines

In related news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $5,707,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,049,536.88. This trade represents a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UAL. State Street Corp lifted its position in United Airlines by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,320,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $588,874,000 after purchasing an additional 78,470 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,457,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of United Airlines by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,311,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $477,526,000 after acquiring an additional 168,498 shares in the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP increased its stake in United Airlines by 176.1% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 4,245,120 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $242,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $177,604,000 after purchasing an additional 908,558 shares in the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is 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.