The Goldman Sachs Group Reiterates Buy Rating for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $70.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 29.73% from the company’s previous close.

ALK has been the subject of several other research reports. Melius Research upgraded 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 research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.31.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 2.0 %

ALK stock opened at $53.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.59. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.34. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $32.00 and a 1-year high of $54.01.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Interval Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 100.0% in the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 80,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,993,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 283,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,457,000 after acquiring an additional 33,717 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,533,000 after purchasing an additional 155,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 88.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 174,178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 81,533 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.