NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of United Continental Holdings (UAL) - Get Report are up 1.21% to $68.74 in afternoon trading today as the airline industry benefits from falling oil prices that are continuing to drive down the cost of fuel.

Brent was lower by 0.89% to $53.46 at 2:51 p.m. in New York, while West Texas Intermediate dell 1.55% to $43.20.

Oil prices are declining on the rising U.S. crude stocks, the rise in production in Libya, and a possible deal with oil producer Iran that could ease sanctions and boost its exports, according to Reuters.

Airline stocks are also rising today along with shares of American Airlines Group (AAL) - Get Report, up over 7%, after the S&P Dow Jones Indices announced late Monday that the airline will replace Allergan (AGN) - Get Report in the S&P 500 after the close of trading on Friday, March 20.

Separately, top executives of U.S. airlines and their Middle East competitors clashed in Washington today over whether "open skies" deals are fair, and each side ramped up efforts to sway U.S. regulators at a high-profile forum, Reuters reports.

A coalition of Delta Air Lines (DAL) - Get Report, United Continental, American Airlines and their labor unions accused Gulf rivals of receiving more than $40 billion in government subsidies.

TheStreet Ratings team rates UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC as a Buy with a ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC (UAL) a BUY. This is driven by a number of strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, notable return on equity and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• Compared to its closing price of one year ago, UAL's share price has jumped by 47.45%, exceeding the performance of the broader market during that same time frame. Turning to the future, naturally, any stock can fall in a major bear market. However, in almost any other environment, the stock should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed nice gains in the past year.
• The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. When compared to other companies in the Airlines industry and the overall market, UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC's return on equity exceeds that of the industry average and significantly exceeds that of the S&P 500.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 70.65% to -$98.00 million when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow of 70.65%, UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC is still growing at a significantly lower rate than the industry average of 1296.65%.
• UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC increased its bottom line by earning $2.79 versus $1.30 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($11.60 versus $2.79).
• UAL, with its decline in revenue, underperformed when compared the industry average of 21.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 0.2%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: UAL Ratings Report