United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $108.00 to $133.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. United Airlines traded as high as $110.33 and last traded at $108.78, with a volume of 2935376 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $103.72.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on UAL. Melius Research upgraded shares of United Airlines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Dbs Bank raised United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.45.

Insider Activity at United Airlines

In other news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $1,044,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $1,407,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,218,565.28. This trade represents a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,000 shares of company stock worth $8,158,900 in the last 90 days. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in United Airlines by 8.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 146,574 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,132,000 after acquiring an additional 11,906 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 3,504.8% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 757 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in United Airlines during the second quarter worth about $387,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in United Airlines during the second quarter worth about $166,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Airlines by 12.7% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,459 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 2,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $95.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.21.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.