United Continental (NYSE: UAL) was upgraded by Zacks from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm currently has a $24.00 target price on the stock.
Zacks’ analyst wrote, “We are upgrading our recommendation on United Continental to Neutral based on future growth prospects. The company’s first quarter loss narrowed from the Zacks Consensus Estimate but was wider than the year-ago quarter. As reservation glitches end, future growth prospects of United Continental is expected to be solid, based on improving air travel demand, rising unit revenue growth, fleet and network optimization, hedging strategy, as well as merger benefits from Continental Airlines. Nevertheless, we believe surging fuel prices and the threat of recession in Europe pose downside risks to the stock. Additionally, high non-fuel costs related to fleet optimization and product initiatives, high unionization, new regulations related to advertising, competitive threats and risks pertaining to the successful Continental integration could hurt the company’s profitability going forward.”
Shares of United Continental traded up 3.15% during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.23. United Continental has a 52 week low of $15.51 and a 52 week high of $25.84. The company has a market cap of $7.714 billion and a P/E ratio of 13.75.
United Continental last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 26th. The company reported ($0.87) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the analysts’ consensus estimate of ($1.06) by $0.19. United Continental’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that United Continental will post $2.47 earnings per share next quarter.
Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Analysts at Imperial Capital initiated coverage on shares of United Continental in a research note to investors on Tuesday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Barclays Capital (NYSE: BCS) downgraded shares of United Continental from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note to investors on Wednesday, April 4th. They now have a $27.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $30.00. Finally, analysts at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) cut their price target on shares of United Continental in a research note to investors on Friday, March 30th. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
United Continental Holdings, Inc. (UAL) is a holding company and its principal, wholly owned subsidiaries are United Air Lines, Inc.
