Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 178,484 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the typical daily volume of 113,826 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AAL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down previously from $24.00) on shares of American Airlines Group in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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, Melius upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Airlines Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 112,412 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 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 trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in American Airlines Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,985,524 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,097,838,000 after purchasing an additional 953,766 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 60,225,707 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,049,734,000 after buying an additional 2,886,041 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,437,904 shares of the airline’s stock worth $94,783,000 after acquiring an additional 980,409 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,280,289 shares of the airline’s stock worth $92,043,000 after acquiring an additional 943,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter valued at $60,190,000. Institutional investors own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

AAL traded down $0.63 on Friday, hitting $15.23. 55,549,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,482,143. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.14 and its 200-day moving average is $14.01. The company has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.35. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.47. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 28.56% and a net margin of 1.56%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Airlines Group Company Profile

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.