Short Interest in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) Grows By 19.4%

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 60,710,000 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the February 13th total of 50,860,000 shares. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 36,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity at American Airlines Group

In other American Airlines Group news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total value of $890,187.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 112,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Airlines Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAL. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,037,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,470 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $897,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth about $98,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,009,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

American Airlines Group Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of AAL opened at $11.07 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.70 and its 200 day moving average is $14.47. American Airlines Group has a 12-month low of $9.07 and a 12-month high of $19.10. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.47. American Airlines Group had a net margin of 1.56% and a negative return on equity of 28.56%. On average, analysts expect that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAL. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on American Airlines Group from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Seaport Res Ptn raised American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.30.

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.