American Airlines (AAL) Stock Up Today as Oil Prices Decline

Shares of American Airlines (AAL) are higher in afternoon trading with airline stocks gaining as oil prices continue to drive down the cost of fuel.
By Sebastian Silva ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of American Airlines Group (AAL) - Get Report are rising, up 1.63% to $55.01 in afternoon trading as the airline industry benefits from falling oil prices that are continuing to drive down the cost of fuel.

Brent was lower by 2.88% to $54.30 at 2:41 p.m. in New York, while West Texas Intermediate was down 2.24% to $43.66.

Oil prices fell today as a rebounding dollar and Kuwait's stance that OPEC had no choice but to keep producing in an oversupplied market undercut a rally from the previous day, Reuters reports. The WSJ Dollar Index was up 1.58%.

"It's dollar play all over again today," Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn told Reuters. "The fact that the oil market is oversupplied is a given, so the only real variable now are currency moves and how they impact commodities demand," Flynn added.

Separately, Credit Suisse analysts Julie Yates and Krishna Vege believe investors should be buying American Airlines, Delta Air Lines (DAL) - Get Report, and United Continental (UAL) - Get Report on earnings-related weakness when they start reporting in two weeks, Barrons' reports.

"We anticipate Q2 PRASM guides from network carriers will be low-single-digit declines, with Delta the best at negative 2% to 0%, then United Continental at negative 2% to negative 4%, and American Airlines at negative 3% to negative 5%," Credit Suisse analysts said.

Insight from TheStreet's Research Team:

RealMoney.com contributor Ed Ponsi wrote today about the airline stock's upside. Here's a snippet of what he had to say:

Has the airline sector reached the next leg of its flight higher? While the broader market has been volatile and choppy, the Dow Jones U.S. Airlines Index ($DJUSAR) has been in a holding pattern, consolidating gains. This index has more than tripled in value since the start of 2013, but really took off in October as the price of oil began its descent.

The airlines appeared to be forming a top, as we can see by the odd-looking head-and-shoulders pattern that has been forming since early December. The move above 265 (blue dotted line) means that the index has climbed above the right shoulder of the formation, which negates the bearish pattern and clears the runway for an ascent to the recent high of 275, reached in January.

Which individual charts in this sector stand out?

American Airlines looks good, having formed a similar head-and-shoulder pattern before gapping sharply higher earlier this week.

- Ed Ponsi, '3 Airline Stocks That Fly Right' originally published 3/19/2015 on RealMoneypro.com.

Want more information like this from Ed Ponsi BEFORE your stock moves? Learn more about RealMoneypro.com now.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC (AAL) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed, some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its notable return on equity, robust revenue growth and solid stock price performance. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company has favored debt over equity in the management of its balance sheet." You can view the full analysis from the report here: AAL Ratings Report

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