Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Raised to $79.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price objective lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $70.00 to $79.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research raised 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 research report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.79.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Alaska Air Group stock opened at $67.46 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $69.10. The company has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. This trade represents a 10.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,739,128.72. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,789,000 after buying an additional 357,907 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $119,960,000 after acquiring an additional 220,030 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $93,229,000 after purchasing an additional 78,186 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,300,000 after purchasing an additional 442,331 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by 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.