Brokerages Set Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) PT at $70.14

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.79.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $66.66 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $69.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. This represents a 10.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $85,600.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,531.50. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALK. FMR LLC increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after buying an additional 265,343 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 21,451 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at $772,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 51,096 shares during the last quarter. 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.