Brokerages Set Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) PT at $64.00

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.86.

A number of research firms have commented on ALK. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 1.6 %

ALK stock opened at $66.02 on Friday. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $66.81. The company has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,531.50. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,490,000 after acquiring an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after buying an additional 442,331 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after buying an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at $11,475,000. 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.