United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.23 EPS

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The transportation company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23, Yahoo Finance reports. United Airlines had a return on equity of 33.90% and a net margin of 5.28%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. United Airlines updated its Q4 guidance to $2.50-$3.00 EPS and its Q4 2024 guidance to 2.500-3.000 EPS.

United Airlines Price Performance

UAL stock opened at $64.05 on Wednesday. United Airlines has a 52 week low of $33.68 and a 52 week high of $65.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07.

United Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on UAL. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised shares of United Airlines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their target price on United Airlines from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on United Airlines from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.32.

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.