American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $18.66, but opened at $17.30. American Airlines Group shares last traded at $17.03, with a volume of 31,415,288 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAL shares. Susquehanna boosted their target price on American Airlines Group from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised American Airlines Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Airlines Group from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Airlines Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.05.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.84, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.35.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share 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 value of $1,763,009.61. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAL. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 133.1% in the 4th 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in American Airlines Group by 56.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in American Airlines Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in American Airlines Group by 55.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in American Airlines Group by 44.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.