Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.14.

Several research firms have weighed in on ALK. Susquehanna upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Melius 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 report on Monday, October 28th.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $66.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $67.73.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total value of $51,112.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total value of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,109.20. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth $45,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 86.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 952.4% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors 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.