Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.14.

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Melius upgraded 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 note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen increased 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 note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $767,300.58. The trade was a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after purchasing an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after acquiring an additional 442,331 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK opened at $66.26 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $67.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.04. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.