United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) Short Interest Up 19.1% in March

United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,450,000 shares, a growth of 19.1% from the March 15th total of 16,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 6.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Airlines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in United Airlines in the third quarter valued at $129,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in United Airlines by 214.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 202,552 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,558,000 after acquiring an additional 138,191 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in United Airlines by 3.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 378,214 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $21,581,000 after acquiring an additional 11,601 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in United Airlines by 98.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,345 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in United Airlines by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on United Airlines from $145.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James downgraded shares of United Airlines from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of United Airlines from $73.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $59.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on United Airlines from $90.00 to $81.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Airlines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.14.

United Airlines Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:UAL opened at $66.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.66. The company has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a PE ratio of 7.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.19. United Airlines has a twelve month low of $37.02 and a twelve month high of $116.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The transportation company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.16. United Airlines had a return on equity of 32.26% and a net margin of 5.52%. The firm had revenue of $13.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.47 billion. Analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 12.96 EPS for the current 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.