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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALK. Susquehanna raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $54.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G 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. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.22 and its 200 day moving average is $57.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $503,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,595,808.40. This trade represents a 16.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 2,858 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 54.2% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 6,734 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 9.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,763 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,054,000 after buying an additional 6,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 45.1% in 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 buying an additional 442,331 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.