Short Interest in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) Grows By 41.3%

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 100,660,000 shares, an increase of 41.3% from the October 15th total of 71,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 31,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Airlines Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAL. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in American Airlines Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 100.0% in the third quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Airlines Group in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kalos Management Inc. bought a new position in American Airlines Group in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Airlines Group by 130.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the airline’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.50% of the company’s stock.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of American Airlines Group stock opened at $11.80 on Monday. American Airlines Group has a one year low of $10.86 and a one year high of $19.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.44 and its 200 day moving average is $14.61. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.34, a PEG ratio of 0.09 and a beta of 1.58.

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The airline reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.12. American Airlines Group had a negative return on equity of 47.30% and a net margin of 3.04%. The company had revenue of $13.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Airlines Group will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AAL shares. Redburn Partners cut American Airlines Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on American Airlines Group from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 28th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on American Airlines Group from $19.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on American Airlines Group in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on American Airlines Group from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.64.

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.