American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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. Approximately 9.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 36,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded American Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $21.50 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on American Airlines Group to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Airlines Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Airlines Group news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total transaction of $1,763,009.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at $51,079,004.64. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total value of $890,187.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 133.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,592 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP boosted its stake in American Airlines Group by 208.5% during the fourth quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 1,749 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC grew its holdings in American Airlines Group by 269.3% in the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the airline’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAL opened at $11.48 on Thursday. American Airlines Group has a 52 week low of $9.07 and a 52 week high of $19.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.57 and its 200-day moving average is $14.45. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 EPS 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.