Kennedy Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 127,501 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $2,222,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAL. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 162.6% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 140,255 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,576,000 after purchasing an additional 86,847 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of American Airlines Group by 63.1% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 66,249 shares of the airline’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 25,637 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of American Airlines Group by 451.2% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 797,738 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $8,967,000 after acquiring an additional 653,012 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 107.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,519,904 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 787,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in American Airlines Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $409,000. 52.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Airlines Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAL opened at $9.67 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.17. American Airlines Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.50 and a 52-week high of $19.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.38.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The airline reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that American Airlines Group Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AAL. Barclays cut their target price on American Airlines Group from $16.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of American Airlines Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $8.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded American Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Airlines Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 112,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,927,865.80. The trade was a 31.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.