StockNews.com Upgrades American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

AAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank upgraded American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (down previously from $24.00) on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Airlines Group to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on American Airlines Group from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Airlines Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.99.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAL opened at $17.33 on Wednesday. American Airlines Group has a 52 week low of $9.07 and a 52 week high of $19.10. The company has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a PE ratio of 52.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.38.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.47. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 0.51%. On average, equities analysts predict that American Airlines Group will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Airlines Group

In other 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 directly owns 112,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 57,339,666 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $644,498,000 after purchasing an additional 458,310 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 9,088,188 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $102,151,000 after buying an additional 508,119 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 379.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,667,539 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319,859 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American Airlines Group by 107.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,519,904 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $17,084,000 after acquiring an additional 787,671 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter worth about $26,033,000. 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.