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

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) saw a large increase in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in United Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at $657,000. Praxis Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 16.1% during the first quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of United Airlines in the first quarter worth about $1,646,000. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in United Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $104,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in United Airlines by 702.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 66,451 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,588,000 after buying an additional 58,166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of United Airlines stock opened at $66.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $77.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.66. United Airlines has a one year low of $37.02 and a one year high of $116.00. The stock has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on United Airlines from $59.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on United Airlines from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on United Airlines from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of United Airlines from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.14.

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.