Oscar Munoz (Insider Trades), CEO and president of United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL), acquired 19,800 shares of the company on April 22. The average price per share was $50.53 for a total transaction cost of $1,000,494. United Continental Holdings Inc. is the parent company of United Airlines and United Express, which operates approximately 5,000 flights a day to 336 airports worldwide. The company has a market cap of $17.75 billion and a P/S ratio of 0.48.
The volume of insider buys with UAL increased from 16,854 shares in 2013 to 21,150 shares 2014, though there were two insider trades with the company in both years. The number decreased in the following year as there were no insider buys with the company in 2015. There were two insider buys of 20,700 shares from January to April 22. Munoz contributed to 19,800 of the insider shares purchased in 2016, and Director James Kennedy (Insider Trades), purchased the other 900 shares. The decrease in insider purchases in 2015 correlates to the rise in month end price. 
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For the three months ended March 31, UAL reported net income of $313 million, or 88 cents per share, down from $508 million, or $1.32 per share reported in the same quarter in 2015. Annual revenue increased 3.17% since 2011 and follows an increasing trend line. Annual net income also follows a slight increasing trend line. 
Munoz commented that the first quarter 2016 showed strong results, “including the improvements in [the company’s] reliability, customer satisfaction and financial performance.” On April 21, the company announced that they applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation for authority to continue daily nonstop service from the airline’s Trans-Pacific gateway in San Francisco to Haneda Airport in downtown Tokyo. United also applied for daily nonstop service from its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport. Steve Morrissey, United’s vice president of Regulatory and Policy commented that the proposed service “will connect two centers of global commerce and culture” and offers “numerous consumer and competitive benefits.” United’s decision to apply for service to Haneda follows DOT’s announcement that the U.S. and Japanese governments amended the nations’ air transport agreement, allowing U.S. carriers to operate daytime flights to and from Haneda Airport.
According to GuruFocus.com information, United Continental Holdings Inc. has a business predictability rank of 1 out of 5 stars. For more information about business predictability rank, click here.
Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) increased his stake in UAL by 45.67%, purchasing 247,910 shares at an average per share price of $57.75. The total estimated loss of the holding since the second quarter of 2015 is 14%. Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio) also increased his stake in UAL by 146.31%, or 846,100 shares, after reducing his stake by 10.7% in the previous quarter. The total estimated loss of the holding since the third quarter of 2014 is 6%. For more information about guru transactions with the company, click here.
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