Short Interest in United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) Expands By 32.1%

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 17,670,000 shares, a growth of 32.1% from the February 13th total of 13,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,750,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 5.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of United Airlines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,547,863 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,548,797,000 after buying an additional 369,500 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in United Airlines by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 21,261,443 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,064,825,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257,443 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 13,848,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,344,671,000 after acquiring an additional 4,390,721 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,320,253 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $588,874,000 after purchasing an additional 78,470 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,788,405 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $950,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791,654 shares during the period. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on United Airlines from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays set a $140.00 price target on United Airlines and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on United Airlines from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “hold” rating on shares of United Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $114.95.

United Airlines Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ UAL traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $71.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,041,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,607,547. United Airlines has a 12 month low of $37.02 and a 12 month high of $116.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.87.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $14.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.