Susquehanna Raises United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Price Target to $120.00

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) had its target price boosted by Susquehanna from $85.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the transportation company’s stock.

UAL has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of United Airlines from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $106.45.

United Airlines Stock Performance

NASDAQ UAL opened at $103.72 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.68. The company has a market capitalization of $34.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.44. United Airlines has a 1 year low of $37.02 and a 1 year high of $105.09. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.23. United Airlines had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 4.94%. The firm had revenue of $14.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that United Airlines will post 10.27 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to buy up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $5,707,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at $6,049,536.88. This represents a 48.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 30,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have sold a total of 92,000 shares of company stock worth $8,158,900 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Airlines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $367,000. Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $450,000. Doliver Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $276,000. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $587,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in United Airlines by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% 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.