ING Groep NV Invests $3.85 Million in American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL)

ING Groep NV bought 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 bought 221,100 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $3,854,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Austin Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Airlines Group in the third quarter valued at about $723,000. Centiva Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Airlines Group by 199.9% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 149,304 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 99,513 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 787,671 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in American Airlines Group by 0.8% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 57,339,666 shares of the airline’s stock worth $644,498,000 after buying an additional 458,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in American Airlines Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $672,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Melius raised shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on American Airlines Group from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of American Airlines Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of American Airlines Group from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Airlines Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robert D. Isom, Jr. sold 102,441 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.21, for a total transaction of $1,763,009.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,967,984 shares in the company, valued at $51,079,004.64. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Angela Owens sold 51,906 shares of American Airlines Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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. This represents a 31.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Airlines Group Price Performance

Shares of American Airlines Group stock opened at $15.23 on Friday. American Airlines Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.07 and a 52-week high of $19.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.09.

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

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.