American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.56 and last traded at $18.07, with a volume of 20375079 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAL. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Airlines Group from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.94.

American Airlines Group Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.99.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.14. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 18.62% and a net margin of 0.51%. The company had revenue of $13.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,967,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 133.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,592 shares of the airline’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in American Airlines Group by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the airline’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 55.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,152 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 44.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,932 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 3,047 shares during the period. 52.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.