Analyzing United Airlines (UAL) and The Competition

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) is one of 78 publicly-traded companies in the “Passenger Airlines” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare United Airlines to similar companies based on the strength of its dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares United Airlines and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Airlines	5.46%	17.59%	3.53%
United Airlines Competitors	-18.05%	5.62%	1.06%

Risk and Volatility

United Airlines has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Airlines’ competitors have a beta of 18.44, suggesting that their average share price is 1,744% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.7% of United Airlines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.0% of shares of all “Passenger Airlines” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of United Airlines shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of shares of all “Passenger Airlines” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares United Airlines and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Airlines	$59.07 billion	$3.35 billion	10.31
United Airlines Competitors	$14.66 billion	$637.69 million	18.87

United Airlines has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. United Airlines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for United Airlines and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Airlines	1	1	16	0	2.83
United Airlines Competitors	1526	4063	6683	354	2.46

United Airlines currently has a consensus price target of $156.19, indicating a potential upside of 38.54%. As a group, “Passenger Airlines” companies have a potential upside of 8.35%. Given United Airlines’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe United Airlines is more favorable than its competitors.

Summary

United Airlines beats its competitors on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

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. The company was formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to United Airlines Holdings, Inc. in June 2019. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.