American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Updates Q1 Earnings Guidance

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) updated its first quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of ~($0.80)-($0.60) for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of ($0.30). The company issued revenue guidance of ~flat yr/yr to ~$12.57 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.02 billion.

American Airlines Group Trading Down 8.3 %

Shares of AAL opened at $11.46 on Wednesday. American Airlines Group has a 12-month low of $9.07 and a 12-month high of $19.10. The company has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.44.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.47. American Airlines Group had a net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 28.56%. As a group, analysts predict that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Airlines Group from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Redburn Partners raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on American Airlines Group to $21.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Airlines Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Airlines Group

In related news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total value of $890,187.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,865.80. This trade represents a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at $51,079,004.64. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.49% 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.