United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) Short Interest Up 19.1% in March

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,450,000 shares, an increase of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 16,330,000 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

United Airlines Trading Down 1.5 %

UAL stock opened at $65.30 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.36 and its 200-day moving average is $87.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $21.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.19. United Airlines has a 1-year low of $37.02 and a 1-year high of $116.00.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 32.26%. Equities analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UAL. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in United Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $129,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Airlines by 214.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 202,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,558,000 after purchasing an additional 138,191 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Airlines by 3.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 378,214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,581,000 after purchasing an additional 11,601 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in United Airlines by 98.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in United Airlines by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on United Airlines from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of United Airlines from $154.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $142.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on United Airlines from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on United Airlines from $140.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.95.

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.