Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Stock

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Barclays from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the airline's stock. Barclays's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.45% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AAL. Scotiabank upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on American Airlines Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Airlines Group from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on American Airlines Group from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Airlines Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.82.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAL traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.40. The stock had a trading volume of 43,073,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,513,374. American Airlines Group has a 1 year low of $9.07 and a 1 year high of $18.09. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.44 and its 200-day moving average is $11.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.41.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.50 billion. American Airlines Group had a net margin of 0.51% and a negative return on equity of 18.62%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Airlines Group will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAL. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in American Airlines Group by 451.2% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 797,738 shares of the airline's stock worth $8,967,000 after buying an additional 653,012 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 63.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 66,249 shares of the airline's stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 25,637 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 162.6% in the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 140,255 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 86,847 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in American Airlines Group by 379.6% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,667,539 shares of the airline's stock worth $18,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319,859 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in American Airlines Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,463,000. 52.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.