HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) by 28.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,053 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 7,110 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Airlines Group were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in American Airlines Group by 404.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,824 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. 52.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays increased their target price on American Airlines Group from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on American Airlines Group from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $10.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.99.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

AAL opened at $17.35 on Thursday. American Airlines Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.07 and a fifty-two week high of $18.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.76 and its 200 day moving average is $12.20.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.14. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 0.51%. The company had revenue of $13.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current 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.