United Continental (NYSE:UAL) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Imperial Capital from $64.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued on Thursday. The brokerage currently has a “line” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Imperial Capital’s target price points to a potential upside of 1.26% from the company’s previous close.
A number of other brokerages have also commented on UAL. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of United Continental in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of United Continental from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Cowen reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $63.00) on shares of United Continental in a research report on Thursday, October 12th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of United Continental in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Buckingham Research raised shares of United Continental from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. United Continental currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.69.
Shares of United Continental (UAL) opened at $73.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $21,650.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.05. United Continental has a 1 year low of $56.51 and a 1 year high of $83.04.
United Continental declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, December 7th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
In other news, Director Robert A. Milton bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 24th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.60 per share, for a total transaction of $58,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 6,176 shares in the company, valued at $361,913.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UAL. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Continental by 4,642.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 22,075,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,559,382,000 after purchasing an additional 21,609,536 shares during the last quarter. Credit Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Continental by 3,631.1% in the second quarter. Credit Capital Investments LLC now owns 8,171,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,171,000 after purchasing an additional 7,952,064 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of United Continental by 30,735.3% in the second quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,957,062 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $523,519,000 after purchasing an additional 6,934,500 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of United Continental by 4,689.0% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,251,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $133,449,000 after purchasing an additional 3,183,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of United Continental in the third quarter valued at $121,305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.63% of the company’s stock.
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About United Continental
United Continental Holdings, Inc (UAL) is a holding company and its principal subsidiary is United Air Lines, Inc (United). The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline operations. It has global air rights in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The Company, through United and its regional carriers, operates flights from its hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (Newark Liberty), Chicago O’Hare International Airport (Chicago O’Hare), Denver International Airport (Denver), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston Bush), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), A.B.
