If You Invested $1,000 In United Airlines Stock One Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Now

Investors who have owned stocks in the past year have generally experienced some big gains. In fact, the SPDR S&P 500 SPY total return over the past 12 months is 53.3%. But there is no question some big-name stocks performed better than others along the way.

United’s Big Run: One company that has been a decent investment in the past year has been United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.

United and other travel stocks experienced a near worst-case scenario when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred in early 2020. Travel demand fell to nearly 0% during the worst period. However, optimism about the ongoing vaccine rollout has investors feeling bullish on the potential for a surge in summer travel in 2021 due to pent-up demand.

In fact, just last week United said it is adding flights heading into the summer travel season. United’s new schedule for May adds 26 new nonstop routes from Midwest cities to vacation destinations, and United is also resuming service for more than 20 domestic routes that were shut down during the pandemic.

In 2019, United generated $11.58 in EPS on $43.2 billion in revenue. In 2020, those numbers plummeted to a $25.30 EPS loss on just $15.3 billion in revenue. United’s long-term debt also ballooned from $13.1 billion in 2019 to $24.8 billion in 2020.

At the beginning of 2020, United shares were trading at around $90. By the beginning of March, the stock had dropped to around $61 after news of the virus spreading in China prompted concerns about a U.S. pandemic. The stock ultimately bottomed at $17.80 on March 18, five days before the S&P 500 hit its pandemic low.

On March 27, airlines received $25 billion in federal bailouts. On that day, United shares closed back above $32.

Airlines got another $15 billion in government bailouts in December. By that time, vaccine optimism had boosted United’s share price back up to above $44.

Related Link: Here's How Much Investing $1,000 In Norwegian Cruise Line Stock One Year Ago World Be Worth Today

United In 2021, Beyond: In mid-March, United shares hit a new post-crisis high of $63.70 before pulling back to $57.83. Incredibly, the battered Airline’s shares are now trading back near where they were at the beginning of March 2020.

United investors who bought one year ago and held on have generated a nice return on their investment. In fact, $1,000 in United stock bought on March 31, 2020, would be worth about $1,930 today.

Looking ahead, analysts are expecting United's stock to lose altitude in the next 12 months. The average price target among the 19 analysts covering the stock is $54, suggesting 6.5% downside from current levels.

(Photo: Denver International Airport via United)