United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $75.00 to $80.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 9,046,176 shares changed hands during mid-day 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 brokerages also recently commented on UAL. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of United Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Raymond James reduced their price target on United Airlines from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. StockNews.com raised United Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on United Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Airlines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.20.

Institutional Trading of United Airlines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Airlines by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,550,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,601,764,000 after purchasing an additional 700,850 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in United Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $351,299,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,018,196 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $310,174,000 after purchasing an additional 146,791 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in United Airlines by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,649,616 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $196,679,000 after acquiring an additional 885,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of United Airlines by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,159,899 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $171,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,170 shares in the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Airlines Trading Up 3.2 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.55.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.39. United Airlines had a return on equity of 40.50% and a net margin of 4.90%. The company had revenue of $13.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. United Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict 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.