Investors Purchase High Volume of American Airlines Group Put Options (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 145,792 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the average daily volume of 108,179 put options.

Insider Activity at American Airlines Group

In other American Airlines Group news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of American Airlines Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total transaction of $1,763,009.61. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 34.4% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 56,881,356 shares of the airline’s stock worth $644,466,000 after acquiring an additional 14,549,310 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in American Airlines Group by 75.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,240,659 shares of the airline’s stock worth $48,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823,928 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in American Airlines Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $16,490,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 379.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,667,539 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,743,000 after buying an additional 1,319,859 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 10,997.9% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,167,056 shares of the airline’s stock worth $13,118,000 after buying an additional 1,156,540 shares in the last quarter. 52.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Airlines Group Stock Down 4.2 %

NASDAQ AAL opened at $17.60 on Tuesday. American Airlines Group has a 52 week low of $9.07 and a 52 week high of $18.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.33, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.82.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAL. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BNP Paribas raised American Airlines Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.42.

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.