Raymond James Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Raymond James in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $23.00 price objective on the airline’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $24.00. Raymond James’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 32.83% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on AAL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Melius Research upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upgraded American Airlines Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on American Airlines Group from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Airlines Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.99.

American Airlines Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAL traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,439,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,582,875. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.16. American Airlines Group has a 12 month low of $9.07 and a 12 month high of $19.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a PE ratio of 52.26, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other American Airlines Group news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,967,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. This represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in American Airlines Group by 133.1% during 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 period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 56.2% during 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 purchased a new position in American Airlines Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in American Airlines Group by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,152 shares of the airline’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 2,204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 52.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Airlines Group Company Profile

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.