Highland Peak Capital LLC Takes Position in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new position in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 286,110 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,325,000. United Airlines comprises 7.1% of Highland Peak Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in United Airlines by 16.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,425 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of United Airlines during the first quarter valued at approximately $314,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in United Airlines by 1,155.4% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 20,363 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 18,741 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Airlines by 47.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,471 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UAL. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of United Airlines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on United Airlines from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Airlines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.28.

Insider Activity at United Airlines

In other news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 14,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total transaction of $1,044,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

United Airlines Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UAL opened at $94.63 on Thursday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.02 and a 1 year high of $95.19. The company has a market cap of $31.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.35.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 10.23 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.