Brokerages Set Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) PT at $70.14

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.14.

ALK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,128.72. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. 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 Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total value of $51,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth $28,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 86.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 952.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK stock opened at $68.10 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.40. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $69.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 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.