American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.55, but opened at $10.30. American Airlines Group shares last traded at $10.04, with a volume of 8,396,365 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.90.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total transaction of $890,187.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth $3,858,000. Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 199.9% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 149,304 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 99,513 shares during the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,482,000. Amundi grew its position in American Airlines Group by 31,647.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 426,691 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $7,510,000 after acquiring an additional 425,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in American Airlines Group by 92.8% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 341,525 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 164,376 shares during the last quarter. 52.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.