Moors & Cabot Inc. Lowers Holdings in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

Moors & Cabot Inc. reduced its stake in shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,550 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in United Airlines were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commerce Bank boosted its position in United Airlines by 1.1% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 17,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of United Airlines by 268.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of United Airlines by 1,464.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 207,603 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,846,000 after purchasing an additional 194,337 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in United Airlines by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 85,680 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,889,000 after buying an additional 13,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in United Airlines by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 22,128 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UAL. TD Cowen lifted their price target on United Airlines from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of United Airlines from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 target price on shares of United Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.28.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of UAL opened at $95.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.91. The stock has a market cap of $31.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.39. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.02 and a 1-year high of $95.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The firm had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In other United Airlines news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total transaction of $1,407,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $1,044,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,190,744. This represents a 32.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.63% 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, flight academy, and maintenance services for third parties.