TD Cowen Issues Positive Forecast for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price boosted by TD Cowen from $68.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

ALK has been the subject of several other reports. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Susquehanna increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.00.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $62.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.51 and a 200-day moving average of $43.01. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $65.62.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In related news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $252,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,321,038.38. The trade was a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,580 shares of company stock worth $1,693,569 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after buying an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $64,300,000 after purchasing an additional 442,331 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in 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 worth $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,475,000. Institutional investors 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.