Analysts Set Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) PT at $57.44

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.44.

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALK. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $41.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Susquehanna downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 607.8% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,177,794 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $115,815,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870,094 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,811,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $148,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495,311 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the first quarter valued at $62,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the first quarter valued at $30,293,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at $30,980,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK opened at $40.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.12 and its 200 day moving average is $37.05. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The transportation company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.12. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

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.