Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Stock

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on United Airlines from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Airlines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.70.

United Airlines Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of UAL opened at $103.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.51. United Airlines has a 52 week low of $37.02 and a 52 week high of $116.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that United Airlines will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to purchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Airlines

In other news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $5,707,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at $6,049,536.88. This trade represents a 48.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total transaction of $1,407,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 1.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 146,621 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,471 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of United Airlines in the second quarter worth $9,026,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in United Airlines during the second quarter valued at about $1,659,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in United Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $698,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in United Airlines by 108.9% during the second quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 8,950 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 4,666 shares during the period. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.