American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.55, but opened at $10.30. American Airlines Group shares last traded at $10.04, with a volume of 8,396,365 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAL has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Airlines Group from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of American Airlines Group from $21.50 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on American Airlines Group to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.50.

American Airlines Group Stock Up 2.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $14.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.46.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

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 dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,097,838,000 after purchasing an additional 953,766 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 60,225,707 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,049,734,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886,041 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in American Airlines Group by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,437,904 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $94,783,000 after acquiring an additional 980,409 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,280,289 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $92,043,000 after acquiring an additional 943,336 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,190,000. 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.