UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $87.00 to $75.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 42.18% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ALK. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.2 %

ALK stock opened at $52.75 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $78.08. The company has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,487,369.52. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total transaction of $654,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,976. The trade was a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $301,048,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at $82,459,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after buying an additional 1,222,277 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,063,000 after buying an additional 923,064 shares during the period. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at $51,306,000. 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.