Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $408.15 Million Stock Position in United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in United Airlines Holdings Inc by 15.5%, selling over 1 million shares, leaving it with 5.91 million shares valued at approximately $408 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in United Airlines, with notable increases from CENTRAL TRUST Co and Blume Capital Management Inc..
• Wall Street analysts remain positive on United Airlines, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $111.43 per share.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its position in United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,910,938 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 1,088,126 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.81% of United Airlines worth $408,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in United Airlines in the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of United Airlines by 64.3% in the first quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,549 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of United Airlines in the first quarter worth $220,000. Solitude Financial Services increased its stake in shares of United Airlines by 18.6% in the first quarter. Solitude Financial Services now owns 6,367 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of United Airlines by 5.5% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,256 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. 69.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at United Airlines

In related news, EVP Torbjorn J. Enqvist sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.22, for a total value of $1,844,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,750,654.76. This trade represents a 24.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Brett J. Hart sold 24,772 shares of United Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $2,217,094.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 283,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,385,601. This represents a 8.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,672 shares of company stock valued at $4,144,411 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UAL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Airlines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target (up from $94.00) on shares of United Airlines in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of United Airlines in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of United Airlines in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $111.43.

United Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UAL traded up $8.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.01. 6,064,682 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,099,766. The company has a market cap of $31.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $83.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.70. United Airlines Holdings Inc has a twelve month low of $40.13 and a twelve month high of $116.00.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The transportation company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $15.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.31 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.71% and a return on equity of 30.09%. United Airlines's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Airlines Holdings Inc will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.