01:20 PM EDT, 04/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

Our 12-month target of $50, up $4, is 4.8x our '25 EPS view (cut to $10.41; '24's raised to $9.11), below UAL's five-year historical average of 7x. We think a discount is merited due to persistent quality control issues with Boeing (BA 169 **), causing further delays in new aircraft deliveries, which could cause unit costs to rise, in our view. Q1 loss/share of -$0.15 vs. a loss/share of -$0.63, beat consensus by $0.42. Q1 revenues grew 10% Y/Y due to UAL's int'l segment (+16%), while capacity rose by 9% Y/Y. UAL reiterated its '24 EPS outlook ($9-$11/share), while reducing its capex guide by $2.5B to $6.5B due to delays in new aircraft deliveries. However, the constant delays in new aircraft deliveries could cause unit costs to rise, in our view, as UAL could be forced to fly much older aircraft it would like to retire, which could place upward pressure on maintenance costs. In addition, we see headwinds for UAL regarding fuel costs, given the EIA expects WTI to average $82/b in '24 (vs. $78/b in '23).