American Airlines Group Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 178,484 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the typical daily volume of 113,826 put options.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of American Airlines Group stock opened at $15.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.11 and a 200 day moving average of $14.06. American Airlines Group has a 12 month low of $9.07 and a 12 month high of $19.10.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Airlines Group

In related news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total value of $890,187.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total value of $1,763,009.61. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Creative Planning raised its position in American Airlines Group by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 232,811 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,617,000 after purchasing an additional 58,127 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in American Airlines Group by 56.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the airline’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Airlines Group in the third quarter worth approximately $114,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in American Airlines Group by 1,334.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 359,284 shares of the airline’s stock worth $40,380,000 after acquiring an additional 334,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in American Airlines Group by 31.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 45,796 shares of the airline’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 11,050 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AAL. Bank of America upgraded American Airlines Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of American Airlines Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Airlines Group to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Airlines Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.88.

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.