Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Lowered to $75.00 at UBS Group

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price target decreased by research analysts at UBS Group from $87.00 to $75.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 41.12% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ALK. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.8 %

ALK traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $53.15. 253,225 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,360,810. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.80. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $78.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total transaction of $654,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,976. This represents a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,487,369.52. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $883,959,000 after purchasing an additional 56,409 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,225,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $403,076,000 after purchasing an additional 56,740 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,048,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564,749 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,121,000 after buying an additional 222,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 134.0% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,277 shares during the last quarter. 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.