Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 22,080 Shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) by 90.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,080 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in United Airlines were worth $4,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Castle Hook Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of United Airlines by 176.1% in the third quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 4,245,120 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $242,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,707,442 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of United Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,486,000. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of United Airlines by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 9,457,587 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $539,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,589 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Airlines by 41.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,112,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $177,604,000 after purchasing an additional 908,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in United Airlines by 1,492.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 912,019 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $88,557,000 after buying an additional 854,759 shares during the period. 69.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on UAL. Susquehanna upped their target price on United Airlines from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of United Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank upgraded United Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $110.20.

United Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of UAL stock opened at $109.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.23 and a 200 day moving average of $72.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.44. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.02 and a 1 year high of $116.00.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.30. United Airlines had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that United Airlines Holdings, Inc. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current year.

United Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the transportation company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $5,707,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 63,599 shares in the company, valued at $6,049,536.88. This represents a 48.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

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.