American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.10.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Melius upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $17.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised American Airlines Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAL opened at $17.60 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.63. American Airlines Group has a 52 week low of $9.07 and a 52 week high of $18.20. The company has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a PE ratio of 53.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.35.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.50 billion. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 0.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Airlines Group will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Airlines Group

In other news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total transaction of $1,763,009.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at $51,079,004.64. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the airline’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Airlines Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in American Airlines Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,152 shares of the airline’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,932 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047 shares in the last quarter. 52.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines Group Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a network air carrier. The company provides scheduled air transportation services for passengers and cargo through its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, DC, as well as through partner gateways in London, Doha, Madrid, Seattle/Tacoma, Sydney, and Tokyo.