California Public Employees Retirement System Grows Stock Position in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,094,906 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 138,839 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of American Airlines Group worth $19,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Airlines Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAL opened at $9.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.42. 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 results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAL. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $21.50 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Partners raised American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised American Airlines Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of American Airlines Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Airlines Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.30.

American Airlines Group 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.