American Airlines Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 181,154 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 32% compared to the typical volume of 137,701 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAL shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $16.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen cut shares of American Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $14.00 to $10.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $21.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.15.

American Airlines Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of AAL opened at $11.56 on Friday. American Airlines Group has a fifty-two week low of $9.07 and a fifty-two week high of $16.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.14. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.43.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Airlines Group will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in American Airlines Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 51.3% in the 1st quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 404.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 52.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.