United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on UAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of United Airlines from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of United Airlines from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on United Airlines from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, TheStreet raised United Airlines from a c rating to a b- rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $70.14.

United Airlines Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ UAL opened at $47.44 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.81. The company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.49. United Airlines has a 12-month low of $31.58 and a 12-month high of $58.23.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The transportation company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $1.00. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 48.89%. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that United Airlines will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Gerald Laderman sold 4,491 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total transaction of $256,211.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 133,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,801.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other United Airlines news, CFO Gerald Laderman sold 4,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.05, for a total transaction of $256,211.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 133,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,599,801.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory L. Hart sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.26, for a total value of $627,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,381,440.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UAL. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $482,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 43,326 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after buying an additional 2,683 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in United Airlines by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 72,334 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in United Airlines by 81.9% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 14,960 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 6,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.37% of the company’s stock.

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, training, and maintenance services for third parties.