Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Given “Buy” Rating at UBS Group

UBS Group reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $72.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ALK. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.69.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE ALK opened at $52.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $32.00 and a 1-year high of $54.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Coastwise Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 5,354 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.