Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 162,107 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 29% compared to the average daily volume of 125,743 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAL shares. BNP Paribas raised American Airlines Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. TD Securities decreased their price objective on American Airlines Group from $10.00 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.09.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 51.3% during the first quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the airline’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in American Airlines Group in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 52.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of AAL traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $12.89. The stock had a trading volume of 53,022,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,837,180. American Airlines Group has a 12-month low of $9.07 and a 12-month high of $16.15. The firm has a market cap of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.82.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.05. American Airlines Group had a negative net margin of 0.23% and a negative return on equity of 19.49%. The firm had revenue of $14.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Airlines Group will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Airlines Group Company Profile

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.