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

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.30.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of American Airlines Group to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $21.50 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Airlines Group to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of American Airlines Group stock opened at $11.83 on Tuesday. American Airlines Group has a 1 year low of $9.07 and a 1 year high of $19.10. The stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.49.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities 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 stock was sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total value of $1,763,009.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at $51,079,004.64. This represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total value of $890,187.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares in the company, 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

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Centiva Capital LP increased its holdings in American Airlines Group by 199.9% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 149,304 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 99,513 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,482,000. Amundi raised its holdings in American Airlines Group by 31,647.8% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 426,691 shares of the airline’s stock worth $7,510,000 after purchasing an additional 425,347 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Airlines Group by 92.8% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 341,525 shares of the airline’s stock worth $3,839,000 after purchasing an additional 164,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $689,000. 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.