Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in United Airlines were worth $632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in United Airlines by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,320,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $588,874,000 after acquiring an additional 78,470 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in United Airlines by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,112,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $177,604,000 after purchasing an additional 908,558 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Airlines by 28.0% in the third quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,704 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after buying an additional 11,743 shares during the period. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in United Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP grew its stake in United Airlines by 87.2% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 18,912 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 8,808 shares during the period. 69.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on United Airlines from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Dbs Bank raised United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.88.

Insider Activity at United Airlines

In other United Airlines news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at $6,049,536.88. The trade was 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 at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ UAL opened at $103.31 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $102.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.19. The company has a market capitalization of $33.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.43. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.02 and a 12 month high of $116.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.30. United Airlines had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the transportation company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.