United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.30 EPS

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.30, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $14.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 4.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share.

United Airlines Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UAL opened at $110.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.80. 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 has a 1 year low of $37.02 and a 1 year high of $110.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $1,407,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,218,565.28. The trade was a 30.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,049,536.88. This represents a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

United Airlines declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on UAL. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on United Airlines from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Raymond James raised their target price on United Airlines from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Airlines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.45.

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.