American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) Short Interest Up 19.4% in February

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAL. Scotiabank upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $14.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $24.00) on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.30.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of American Airlines Group stock opened at $11.48 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.45. American Airlines Group has a 1 year low of $9.07 and a 1 year high of $19.10. The company has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Airlines Group

In other news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of American Airlines Group stock in a transaction on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total value of $1,763,009.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,967,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares in the company, valued at $1,927,865.80. This trade 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

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

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.