QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,568 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 6,696 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Airlines Group were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,033,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Airlines Group in the third quarter valued at about $16,490,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 379.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,667,539 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $18,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319,859 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 10,997.9% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,167,056 shares of the airline’s stock worth $13,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,540 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in American Airlines Group by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,575,571 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $44,892,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,667 shares during the last quarter. 52.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Airlines Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.70.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

AAL opened at $13.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.33. American Airlines Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.07 and a 1 year high of $19.10.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at American Airlines Group

In other American Airlines Group news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total transaction of $1,763,009.61. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,079,004.64. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.