Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Raised to $80.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.57.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $66.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.18 and its 200 day moving average is $47.38. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $69.10.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342 in the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 27,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 17.5% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 178,466 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,210,000 after acquiring an additional 26,601 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth about $69,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,743 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $265,000. 81.90% of the stock is 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.