Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL)

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders bought 132,912 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 96,958 put options.

American Airlines Group Stock Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ:AAL traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.15. 35,529,173 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,207,828. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.11 and a beta of 1.57. American Airlines Group has a 52 week low of $10.86 and a 52 week high of $19.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $14.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.54.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.18. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 36.28% and a net margin of 1.56%. The business had revenue of $13.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Airlines Group will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AAL. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised American Airlines Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on American Airlines Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised American Airlines Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $17.53.

Institutional Trading of American Airlines Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the airline's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 52.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.