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

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The transportation company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.23, Yahoo Finance reports. United Airlines had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 33.90%. The business had revenue of $14.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.76 billion. 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 Trading Up 12.4 %

NASDAQ UAL opened at $72.02 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.33. United Airlines has a 52 week low of $33.68 and a 52 week high of $73.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.17, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on UAL shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of United Airlines from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of United Airlines from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.80.

United Airlines declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.