American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Stock Price Down 7.1% – What’s Next?

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) shares fell 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $11.61 and last traded at $11.62. 58,684,825 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average session volume of 39,111,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of American Airlines Group to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Melius raised American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.37.

American Airlines Group Trading Down 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.42.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of American Airlines Group stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,967,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. This represents a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centiva Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 199.9% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 149,304 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 99,513 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 57,339,666 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $644,498,000 after acquiring an additional 458,310 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Airlines Group by 107.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,519,904 shares of the airline’s stock worth $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 787,671 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $672,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,482,000. 52.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.