Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 787,671 Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) by 107.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,519,904 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 787,671 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Airlines Group were worth $17,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American Airlines Group by 51.3% in the 1st quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 56.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 4.4% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 23,375 shares of the airline’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in American Airlines Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 21,540 shares of the airline’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in American Airlines Group by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 14,894 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the period. 52.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Airlines Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $10.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised American Airlines Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.89.

American Airlines Group Stock Up 1.8 %

AAL stock opened at $14.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.76. American Airlines Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.07 and a twelve month high of $16.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a PE ratio of 43.21, a PEG ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.39.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $13.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. American Airlines Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 1.49 EPS 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.