United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Price Target Raised to $140.00

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) had its price objective upped by UBS Group from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

UAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 target price on shares of United Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on United Airlines from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.45.

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UAL opened at $103.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $94.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.68. United Airlines has a 52-week low of $37.02 and a 52-week high of $105.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.44.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The firm had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Airlines will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,190,744. The trade was a 32.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,000 shares of company stock worth $8,158,900. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UAL. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its position in United Airlines by 176.1% during the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 4,245,120 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $242,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707,442 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in United Airlines by 489.2% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,295,246 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,905,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 worth $272,559,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263,604 shares during the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new position in United Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $63,486,000. Finally, 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. 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.