StockNews.com Lowers United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of United Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a neutral rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of United Airlines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Raymond James cut 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on United Airlines from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised United Airlines from an underperform rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $64.60.

United Airlines Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of UAL stock opened at $41.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.55. United Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $33.68 and a fifty-two week high of $58.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.31.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $13.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.55 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 41.01% and a net margin of 4.87%. United Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that United Airlines will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Airlines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the first quarter valued at $351,299,000. Altimeter Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in United Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $115,175,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in United Airlines by 1,248.8% during the first quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,474,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $68,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,768 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its stake in United Airlines by 347.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,549,450 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202,905 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $171,637,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

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.