United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.88.

United Airlines Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of United Airlines stock opened at $73.33 on Monday. United Airlines has a twelve month low of $33.68 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The stock has a market cap of $24.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.50.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 33.90% and a net margin of 5.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Airlines will post 9.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy 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 shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Airlines

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in United Airlines by 5.9% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 64,542 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in United Airlines by 47.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in United Airlines by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,429 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $835,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in United Airlines by 1.0% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 67,719 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,242,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 5.8% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 522,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,032,000 after acquiring an additional 28,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

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.