American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Stock Price Target Cut by Freedom Broker

Key Points

• Freedom Broker lowered American Airlines Group’s price target from $18 to $17 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying roughly 35% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain mixed: nine analysts rate the stock a buy, 10 recommend holding and two recommend selling, producing a consensus “hold” rating and an average price target of $17.28.
• AAL shares traded near $12.58, with the company reporting a quarterly loss of $0.28 per share—better than expectations—and revenue of $16.34 billion.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Freedom Broker from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the airline's stock. Freedom Broker's price target would indicate a potential upside of 35.14% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Airlines Group from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Airlines Group from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on American Airlines Group from $12.50 to $13.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Melius Research lowered American Airlines Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $15.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.28.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAL traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,055,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,265,766. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.23 and a beta of 1.37. American Airlines Group has a 12-month low of $10.09 and a 12-month high of $18.79. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $13.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.61.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The airline reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.36) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $16.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.21 billion. American Airlines Group had a negative net margin of 0.79% and a negative return on equity of 9.11%. American Airlines Group's revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Airlines Group will post -1.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Angela Owens sold 40,077 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.26, for a total value of $611,575.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 178,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,728,472.74. This represents a 18.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 147.9% in the third quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 68,666 shares of the airline's stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 40,968 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 72.9% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 26,638 shares of the airline's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 11,228 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. grew its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 16.7% in the third quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 7,000 shares of the airline's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 13.1% in the third quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 6,787,455 shares of the airline's stock valued at $90,748,000 after purchasing an additional 786,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.44% of the company's stock.

About American Airlines Group

American Airlines Group Inc is a holding company whose principal subsidiary, American Airlines, provides scheduled passenger air transportation and air cargo services. The company operates a large mainline network under the American Airlines brand and offers regional service through carriers operating as American Eagle. Its services include domestic and international flights, connecting passengers through a network of hubs and focus cities.

American Airlines serves destinations throughout the United States, as well as markets in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, Asia and other international regions.

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