Wall Street Zen Upgrades United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) to Strong-Buy

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on UAL. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of United Airlines from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of United Airlines from $140.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of United Airlines from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $102.33.

United Airlines Stock Up 2.3%

UAL traded up $1.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.23. 6,915,999 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,632,022. The stock has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.64. United Airlines has a 1-year low of $37.02 and a 1-year high of $116.00.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $13.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.47 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.52% and a return on equity of 32.26%. Sell-side analysts predict that United Airlines will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in United Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,000. Longbow Finance SA bought a new position in shares of United Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $9,359,000. KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of United Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $485,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 293.7% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,458 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,278,000 after buying an additional 17,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $790,000. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.