Susquehanna Increases Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target to $45.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Susquehanna from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective points to a potential upside of 3.38% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.60.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK traded up $0.79 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.53. 160,823 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,268,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $30.75 and a 1 year high of $46.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 238.8% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 869,045 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,954,000 after acquiring an additional 612,575 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 145.4% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,003 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,971 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth about $694,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 23.1% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 62,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,703,000 after acquiring an additional 11,796 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.