United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Shares Gap Up to $41.50

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $41.50, but opened at $44.45. United Airlines shares last traded at $46.44, with a volume of 10,795,428 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of United Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of United Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised 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 dropped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of United Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.60.

United Airlines Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.55.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The transportation company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $13.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.55 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 41.01%. The company’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bartlett & Co. LLC grew its stake in United Airlines by 200.0% during the third quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 600 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in United Airlines during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in United Airlines by 707.8% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 622 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in United Airlines by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 654 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in United Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.