American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised shares of American Airlines Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Melius Research upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $24.00) on shares of American Airlines Group in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.99.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

NASDAQ AAL opened at $16.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.38.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.47. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 0.51%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was 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 owns 2,967,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,079,004.64. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total value of $890,187.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,865.80. The trade was a 31.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 133.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,592 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 56.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the airline’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the airline’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in American Airlines Group during the third quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

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.