United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Issues Q1 Earnings Guidance

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $0.75-1.25 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $0.53. United Airlines also updated its FY25 guidance to $11.50-13.50 EPS.

United Airlines Price Performance

UAL traded up $3.14 on Tuesday, hitting $110.52. 12,276,837 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,451,333. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.80. The stock has a market cap of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. United Airlines has a fifty-two week low of $37.02 and a fifty-two week high of $110.92.

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The transportation company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.96 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $14.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 billion. United Airlines had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 30.72%. United Airlines’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Airlines will post 10.34 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on UAL shares. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of United Airlines from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on United Airlines from $70.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of United Airlines from $98.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $75.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $106.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kate Gebo sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.44, for a total value of $1,407,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,218,565.28. This represents a 30.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Linda P. Jojo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $5,707,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 63,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,049,536.88. The trade was a 48.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Airlines Company Profile

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.