United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.30 EPS

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

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UAL traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.52. 12,159,494 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,407,966. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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 52 week low of $37.02 and a 52 week high of $110.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Airlines

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

United Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the transportation company to purchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of United Airlines from $90.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.