StockNews.com Downgrades American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) to Hold

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AAL. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of American Airlines Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Redburn Partners upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.37.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

AAL opened at $10.87 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27. American Airlines Group has a one year low of $9.07 and a one year high of $19.10.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.47. American Airlines Group had a net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 28.56%. On average, analysts expect that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. This represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total transaction of $890,187.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. This trade represents a 31.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 133.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,592 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP increased its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 208.5% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 1,749 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC increased its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 269.3% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 52.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.