Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires New Holdings in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 5,781 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,320,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $588,874,000 after buying an additional 78,470 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in United Airlines by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,311,220 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $477,526,000 after acquiring an additional 168,498 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,707,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Airlines by 41.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 908,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of UAL opened at $107.97 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $37.02 and a one year high of $116.00. The company has a market capitalization of $35.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.44.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 10.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at United Airlines

In related news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on UAL. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on United Airlines from $88.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised 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, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.45.

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.