American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock to $18.00. Evercore ISI currently has a hold rating on the stock. American Airlines Group traded as high as $18.36 and last traded at $18.36, with a volume of 3156003 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.60.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James upgraded American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Airlines Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Airlines Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.42.

Insider Transactions at American Airlines Group

In other American Airlines Group news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total transaction of $1,763,009.61. Following the completion of 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 trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAL. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 57,339,666 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $644,498,000 after purchasing an additional 458,310 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its holdings in American Airlines Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 9,088,188 shares of the airline’s stock worth $102,151,000 after acquiring an additional 508,119 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in American Airlines Group by 75.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,240,659 shares of the airline’s stock worth $48,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823,928 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 379.6% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,667,539 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $18,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319,859 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 107.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,519,904 shares of the airline’s stock worth $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 787,671 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.75. The firm has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 55.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.35.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $13.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.50 billion. American Airlines Group had a net margin of 0.51% and a negative return on equity of 18.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.