Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stake in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL - Free Report) by 69.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,255 shares of the airline's stock after selling 406,213 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in American Airlines Group were worth $3,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 133.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 269.3% in the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the airline's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the airline's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAL. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $16.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded American Airlines Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Redburn Partners raised American Airlines Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on American Airlines Group from $21.50 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group to $26.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total value of $890,187.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

AAL stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.31. 62,049,057 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,263,906. American Airlines Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $8.50 and a 1 year high of $19.10. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.28.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.