Susquehanna Upgrades Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) to Positive

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) was upgraded by equities researchers at Susquehanna from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $95.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price points to a potential upside of 47.45% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ALK. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.43.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $64.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.73. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $67.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $767,300.58. This represents a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $85,600.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,531.50. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $501,000. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,454,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth approximately $281,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 8.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,239,000 after buying an additional 122,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth approximately $1,833,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.