Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 369,500 Shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,547,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 369,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.11% of United Airlines worth $3,548,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 268.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its position in United Airlines by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 17,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in United Airlines by 111.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 49,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 26,188 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 33.0% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,188 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 8.5% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the period. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $120.00) on shares of United Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of United Airlines from $140.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of United Airlines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.75.

United Airlines Stock Performance

UAL stock opened at $80.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.95. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.02 and a 12-month high of $116.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.30. United Airlines had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The company had revenue of $14.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. United Airlines’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Airlines 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.