Will United Continental (UAL) Stock Be Helped by October Revenue Spike?
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- United Continental (UAL) - Get Report released its October 2015 operational performance results on Monday, and posted a 3.6% year over year rise in its consolidated traffic or passenger revenue miles.
Available seat miles grew by 1.4% versus October of 2014. The airliner's consolidated load factor was up by 1.7 points compared to the same month last year.
Shares of United Continental are down by 0.25% to $60 in pre-market trading on Tuesday morning.
Additionally, on Friday United Continental CEO Oscar Munoz announced that he will be returning to the company in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, after being sidelined by a heart attack.
Munoz, 56, was hospitalized on October 15 and needed to temporarily step down from his post at the helm of the Chicago-based airline company.
"I am excited to tell you that I am on the road to recovery. My time away will be a little longer than I would like, but based upon discussion with my doctors I will be back in the first quarter," Munoz said in a letter on the United website.
Separately, 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 several positive factors, 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, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income, notable return on equity and attractive valuation levels. We feel its 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:
- Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Looking ahead, unless broad bear market conditions prevail, we still see more upside potential for this stock, despite the fact that it has already risen over the past year.
- UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. 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 ($11.98 versus $2.79).
- The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Airlines industry. The net income increased by 421.2% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $924.00 million to $4,816.00 million.
- 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. Compared to other companies in the Airlines industry and the overall market, UNITED CONTINENTAL HLDGS INC's return on equity significantly exceeds that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: UAL
Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of Jim Cramer, TheStreet or any of its contributors.