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

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

American Airlines Group Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AAL opened at $11.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.14. American Airlines Group has a 1-year low of $9.07 and a 1-year high of $16.15.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $14.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Airlines Group will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 404.3% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,824 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 51.3% during 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. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AAL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $21.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of American Airlines Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $16.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Airlines Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Airlines Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.15.

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.