Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 41.91% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ALK. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Melius Research upgraded 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock opened at $63.42 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $50.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.87. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $65.62. The company has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $888,458.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,321,038.38. This represents a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,580 shares of company stock worth $1,441,209. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after buying an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 8.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,960,000 after acquiring an additional 220,030 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,229,000 after acquiring an additional 78,186 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,239,000 after purchasing an additional 122,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.