American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock to $18.00. Evercore ISI currently has a hold rating on the stock. American Airlines Group traded as high as $18.36 and last traded at $18.36, with a volume of 3156003 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.60.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on American Airlines Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Airlines Group news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of American Airlines Group stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $51,079,004.64. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Airlines Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in American Airlines Group by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the third quarter worth about $55,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in American Airlines Group by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,152 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in American Airlines Group by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,932 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

American Airlines Group Trading Up 2.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a PE ratio of 54.70, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.70.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.14. American Airlines Group had a net margin of 0.51% and a negative return on equity of 18.62%. The firm had revenue of $13.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.