United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after Raymond James raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $70.00. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Approximately 9,046,176 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 9,844,872 shares.The stock last traded at $50.34 and had previously closed at $48.74.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on UAL. Evercore ISI raised shares of United Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on United Airlines from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic lowered United Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on United Airlines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on United Airlines from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.53.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JB Capital LLC acquired a new stake in United Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. NWI Management LP raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. NWI Management LP now owns 195,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,249,000 after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 295,615 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $12,197,000 after purchasing an additional 89,106 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 1,993.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 861,835 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $36,456,000 after purchasing an additional 820,660 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 145.0% during the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,396 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 12,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $44.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.55.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $13.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.55 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 40.50% and a net margin of 4.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

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.