Short Interest in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) Expands By 19.4%

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 36,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 9.3% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AAL. Citigroup cut their price objective on American Airlines Group from $21.50 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on American Airlines Group from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of American Airlines Group in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of American Airlines Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $14.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Melius upgraded American Airlines Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Airlines Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.30.

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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 that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total value of $1,763,009.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at $51,079,004.64. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.15, for a total transaction of $890,187.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 112,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Airlines Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in 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 period. Elequin Capital LP lifted its position in American Airlines Group by 208.5% during the 4th quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 1,749 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC boosted its position 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 52.44% of the company's stock.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

American Airlines Group stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $11.40. 40,423,840 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,617,451. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $15.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.42. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27. American Airlines Group has a one year low of $9.07 and a one year high of $19.10.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.47. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 28.56% and a net margin of 1.56%. Sell-side analysts predict that American Airlines Group will post 2.42 EPS 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.