Zacks Investment Management Takes $4.41 Million Position in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 252,980 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $4,409,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Airlines Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,985,524 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,097,838,000 after purchasing an additional 953,766 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in American Airlines Group by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 60,225,707 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,049,734,000 after buying an additional 2,886,041 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in American Airlines Group by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,575,571 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $44,892,000 after buying an additional 1,055,667 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter worth about $40,333,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,033,000. 52.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Airlines Group

In other news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of American Airlines Group 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,927,865.80. The trade was a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAL opened at $9.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.17. American Airlines Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.50 and a fifty-two week high of $19.10.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAL shares. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on American Airlines Group to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on American Airlines Group from $21.50 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Partners raised American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Melius raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Airlines Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.95.

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.