UBS Group Has Lowered Expectations for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price

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

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ALK. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.2 %

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

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts forecast 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, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $6,526,739.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,187.32. This trade represents a 81.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,487,369.52. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 20,347 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth about $772,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 51,096 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,312,000 after purchasing an additional 24,796 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alaska Air Group

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.